K-12 Education and ICE Enforcement

Axios reports that school systems in several cities and states targeted by President Trump’s stepped-up immigration enforcement have seen significant spikes in student absences and enrollment drops when ICE conducts raids or surges operations. In Charlotte, North Carolina, officials say about 15% of Charlotte-Mecklenburg students stayed home on a single day during an ICE sweep dubbed 'Charlotte’s Web,' far above normal absentee levels, while a Chalkbeat analysis found Chicago’s daily attendance fell by more than a full percentage point—roughly 3,200 extra students missing class each day—during Homeland Security surges compared with the prior two years. A Stanford University study of California’s Central Valley documented more than a 20% jump in absenteeism amid early second-term ICE and Border Patrol raids, with researcher Thomas S. Dee warning the stress on children and families signals broader developmental harm. The pattern extends to places where ICE has deputized local law enforcement, with districts in Florida and Texas reporting large enrollment declines as immigrant families leave or keep children home out of fear, even when some kids are U.S. citizens. While a DHS spokesperson insists ICE is 'protecting children' and not arresting them in schools, more than 70 House Democrats have warned Education Secretary Linda McMahon that current tactics are inflicting 'undeniable harm' on students and school communities.