20 Nov EdSource: Immigrant Parents Avoid School, Work Due to Deportation Concerns, Survey Says

(Photo by Note Thanun on Unsplash)

By Vani Sanganeria
EdSource

About 1 in 10 immigrant parents and 3 in 10 undocumented parents reported not taking their children to school or attending school events due to concerns about immigration enforcement, according to a new nationwide survey of immigrants by KFF Health News.

As the Trump administration spearheaded a surge in what many human rights advocates describe as unlawful and discriminatory raids, detentions and deportations, more immigrant families report avoiding activities outside their homes, such as taking children to school, going to work, or receiving health care, compared to two years ago.

“Immigrants’ avoidance of activities outside the home are likely driven in part by heightened immigration enforcement activities,” wrote the report’s authors, “as well as policy changes that have allowed immigration enforcement activity in previously protected areas, including places of worship, schools, and health care facilities and to allow ICE to pursue arrests without a warrant.”

Four in 10 immigrants, including 7 in 10 undocumented immigrants, said they personally worry they or a family member could be detained or deported, compared to about 2 in 10 in 2023. About 4 in 10 immigrants also said they were worried about their immigration status being revoked and being separated from children or family members.

These fears extended to children in immigrant families, with about a quarter of immigrant parents saying their children have expressed worries or concerns about something bad happening to someone in their family because they are an immigrant. The share rose to 6 in 10 among likely undocumented immigrant parents and to about 4 in 10 among Hispanic immigrant parents.

“My family, friends, and colleagues are worried, stressed, and scared every single time we step out of our homes as we don’t want to be the next family to be deported,” said a 40-year-old Nicaraguan immigrant woman in Illinois who was quoted in the survey.

More immigrant families are also struggling financially since Donald Trump took office. About half of immigrants say they have had problems paying for essentials like housing, food and health care, as well as earning a living, in the past year — up from 3 in 10 who said the same in 2023.