A child should never have to choose between their safety and their education. But across the country, too many students are facing exactly that. In classrooms that should be filled with curiosity and possibility, fear is creeping in — not because of what’s happening inside the school, but because of what may happen just outside its doors.

That fear is the direct result of harmful immigration enforcement policies advanced by the Trump administration and carried out by ICE, which have stripped away long-standing protections for sensitive locations — places like schools, hospitals, and houses of worship — that have historically been treated as off-limits for immigration enforcement.

Instead of kids focusing on losing their first tooth, planning sleepovers, or playing soccer matches — and for older students: midterms, school dances, or rivalry games — they’re preparing to act as lookouts to keep their peers and neighbors safe from state-sanctioned kidnapping.

Those protections mattered. And their removal is creating unnecessary trauma for students, teachers, families, and the broader community.

As one educator shared, “You can’t get ready for this type of disruption…. All of our students are being affected.” And they are — not just academically, but emotionally, psychologically, and in ways that ripple across entire communities.

Students are arriving at school carrying more than backpacks. Some carry passports. Others wear tags that read, “I’m a U.S. Citizen.” Some even bring whistles, prepared to sound an alarm if immigration agents appear.

Let that sit for a moment. Instead of kids focusing on losing their first tooth, planning sleepovers, or playing soccer matches — and for older students: midterms, school dances, or rivalry games — they’re preparing to act as lookouts to keep their peers and neighbors safe from state-sanctioned kidnapping.

Families are feeling the pressure too. One Guatemalan mother put it plainly: “I am scared I will go to pick up my children, and [ICE agents] will be there taking parents from the schools.” Another community leader warned of a devastating reality: “Kids will be coming home or waiting at school for parents… but they will be gone.”

This is what happens when schools are no longer treated as protected spaces. Fear takes root. And once it does, it spreads.

Research and reporting show that when immigration enforcement intensifies, attendance drops almost immediately. School leaders are witnessing it in real time, describing declines driven by a climate of fear and instability. As one educator put it, “When immigration raids occur… schools often see immediate drops in attendance.”

This is the chilling effect of immigrant raids in action, and it extends far beyond the students directly impacted. Entire student bodies feel it. Entire communities carry it. And the consequences are profound.

At EdTrust, we know that chronic absenteeism is one of the strongest predictors of whether a student will fall behind academically or disengage from school altogether. When students miss school, they miss instruction, connections, and critical supports. Over time, those missed days add up, and so do the barriers to opportunity.

But what we are seeing now is not absenteeism driven by typical barriers. It is absenteeism driven by fear — fear created by the erosion of protections that once made schools safe.

As one D.C. parent said about the pressure permeating school communities: “The kids have been talking about this…. It’s risen to a new level.” Another said simply, “I’ve been extremely stressed and not sleeping well at all.”

And in some communities, families are asking tough questions like: Should we risk sending our children to school at all? “Are we at a point where we need a virtual schooling option? …families are going to have to choose between risking their child or being referred to Child Protective Services for truancy. And that’s just immoral.”

They’re right. It is immoral. Schools must be more than places of learning; they must be protected spaces that allow children to grow and thrive. And right now, that protection is not guaranteed.

“People know that schools are not safe just because they’re schools,” one teacher said. And that truth demands action. Because safety is not symbolic. It must be codified, enforced, and protected.

Congress must act.

EdTrust will not accept immigration enforcement that creates “zones of fear” around the very institutions designed to support children and families. We will not accept a reality where students stay home simply because they are afraid to be seen. And we will not stand by while cruel policies undermine access to education, healthcare, and basic human dignity.

Here’s what must happen now:

• Congress must include clear, enforceable protections for sensitive locations in Department of Homeland Security funding agreements — explicitly prohibiting immigration enforcement activity in and around schools.
• Lawmakers must pass the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act (S.455/H.R. 1061) to establish a 1,000-foot buffer around schools, hospitals, places of worship, and other sensitive locations.
• State leaders must act to protect student data and ensure families can access education and services without fear.

And we all have a role to play. Contact your members of Congress. Demand action. Speak up for policies that ensure every child — no matter where they come from — can walk into a school building and feel safe.

• Because when students do not feel safe, they cannot learn.
• When families do not feel safe, they cannot trust.
• And when that trust is broken, opportunity slips further out of reach.

Every student deserves a safe place to learn. Not sometimes. Not conditionally. Always.