Back to School in Washington, DC: Immigration Fears Harming Kids and Affecting Schools

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Washington, DC — The Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda continues to harm key American industries and our overall economy. In Washington, DC, amidst the Trump administration’s dangerous armed authoritarianism and focus on immigration enforcement, the city’s restaurants are reporting business is down “drastically.”

Yet the most significant toll of the administration’s agenda isn’t captured by a financial bottom line. Today, as many Washington, DC area schools open for the year, children in the region are being caught up in the chaos. U.S. citizens and immigrant kids alike are being directly affected and harmed by immigration fears and the aftermath of immigration enforcement, while schools and daycares are navigating these new realities.

Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice, said:

“This back-to-school season, children in Washington D.C. and communities nationwide are facing something no child should ever experience: the terror of wondering if their parents will be there when they come home.

The usual first-day jitters have been replaced by paralyzing fear. Kids are missing school, afraid to leave their homes. Parents are having to make plans in case they are disappeared. And teachers are having to be trained in safety protocols should they encounter ICE.

This is the hidden cost of Trump’s mass deportation agenda—not just economic devastation, but educational chaos and the psychological scarring of an entire generation of American children. When kids can’t learn because they’re afraid, we all lose.”

Among key media coverage of these storylines:

●     Washington Post, “For some in D.C., first day of school to look different under Trump crackdown,” noting: “The first day of school, typically steeped in routine and tradition, will look different for some students in the District amid President Donald Trump’s orders to place the city’s police under federal control and deploy the National Guard … some residents are made uneasy by the surge of federal officers from agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The city’s growing immigrant community fears being targeted and detained — even those who are in the country legally” (also see last week’s Washington Post story, “This back-to-school season, educators prepare for ICE encounters”).

●     The Guardian: “When immigration shows up at daycare: crackdown in DC terrifies families and workers,” noting: “The crackdown has especially been affecting parents and caregivers as the new school year begins. Parents told the Guardian they were scared to send their children to school. Nannies are calling out or asking to be escorted to and from work. Daycares are having to implement new safety precautions. Once off limits for immigration enforcement and arrests, schools and daycares feel as if they are no longer safe for employees and for children, many Washingtonians said.”

●     A study released last week from mental health experts at the University of California Riverside School of Medicine and published in Psychiatric News highlighted some of the harms of heightened immigration fears on children. “The Special Report, U.S. Immigration Policy and the Mental Health of Children and Families” found that “children in mixed-status families often live with chronic anticipatory anxiety that a loved one could be detained or deported. These fears have been shown to lead to school absenteeism, academic disengagement, and heightened emotional distress….These experiences weaken attachment bonds, erode emotional security, and interfere with healthy development.”