How Immigration Issues Can Impact Students

We held an optional district professional development session called "Developing Resources and Supports for Immigrant Students"…I think it was an eye-opener for many who attended.  The district's Coordinator of Social Workers attended and relayed that immigration trauma and stress would be put on her agenda for the next district mental health meeting.

–  Sarah Fladwood-Handley, District Elementary ELL Coach, Topeka Public Schools, Kansas

Overview

Helping staff understand students' experiences can have a powerful impact on how they interact with immigrant students and families. A number of educators have noted that their colleagues, including administrators, were surprised to learn how much these issues were impacting their students. The following sections provide some background information on immigration issues that may affect students or staff at your school/program, as well as tips for offering professional development on these issues.

In addition, it is important to keep in mind that immigration issues can impact staff as well. Learn more about this topic from our section on social-emotional support for staff.

For more information on recent immigration policy changes and immigration impacts on students, see our strategies for keeping up with current events and policy changes.

Back to top >

News Headlines

• What if ICE Agents Show Up? Schools Prepare Teachers and Parents. (The New York Times)
• Undocumented Students Have the Right to a Free Education. This Is Why (Education Week)
• Mass deportation could separate millions of families, leaving schools to pick up the pieces (Chalkbeat)

Separation and reunification

Immigrant students may have complex situations in their families when it comes to separation, reunification, and the impacts of changing immigration policies. Examples include the following:

• Unaccompanied minors who come to the U.S. to reunite with parents may not have seen those parents for many years and may have new siblings or stepparents in the U.S. that they are meeting for the first time.
• Other students may experience separation from family members due to detention, deportation, travel restrictions, or other policy changes. In some of these cases, students may have significant care-taking responsibilities for younger siblings.

At the same time, students may also be concerned about the safety of family members who have stayed in unstable, violent, or war-torn regions of their home countries.

Here are examples of real students navigating those issues, including some students who have been featured by The Washington Post:

• Alex, a young man being cared for by his 18-year-old sister after his mother was detained in an immigration raid in Ohio
• Jafet and Jeshua, teenagers who traveled from Guatemala to live with their mother in Northern Virginia after being separated from her for 13 years, leaving a younger sister behind in Guatemala
• Steve, a 10-year-old living with his father in Northern Virginia after his mother was deported to El Salvador, where she now lives with his younger sister
• Isaac, an 11-year-old from Honduras who was separated from his mother at the border in 2017 and now lives in Illinois with an uncle following her deportation
• Hana, a middle school student from Yemen living in Michigan with her father and younger brothers whose mother is currently awaiting her visa to the U.S.
• Hussein (sixth grade) and Yussef (second grade), brothers who came from Yemen without their mother before she joined them six months later

Back to top >

The impacts of immigration enforcement on students

Why this matters

There are 4.5 million children with at least one parent who is undocumented; 1.6 million of those children are under the age of 5 and a high percentage of those children were born in the U.S. and are therefore U.S. citizens. In California alone, nearly two million children live in "mixed-status" households, and one in eight students have at least one undocumented parent. Researchers at UCLA estimate that immigration enforcement policies have the potential to impact more than 5 million children nationwide (Gándara & Ee, 2018a, p. 3).

Immigration enforcement activity can result in a variety of outcomes, including:

• detention in U.S. facility
• deportation to another country
• large raids
• arrests of other undocumented people nearby
• extended separations between family members.

It is also worth noting that thousands of people who are deported, usually men, often try to return to the U.S. each year. This journey can prove fatal, as in the case of Adrián Luna, a 45-year-old father of five who had lived in Idaho for 27 years and died deep in the desert in an attempt to come back to the U.S. following his deportation.

In addition, changes in immigration policy can have various impacts on how young people's situations evolve. For example, a memorandum of understanding in which the Department of Health and Human Services was sharing sponsor information with immigration officials led to the arrest of numerous undocumented sponsors. Undocumented sponsors of young people who had crossed the border were then reluctant to come forward to take children home, which was a factor impacting the increased amount of time children are in federal custody, leading to higher numbers of children in shelters and an expansion of "tent cities" where immigrant youth are housed.

All of these outcomes have long-lasting emotional, economic, and practical effects on students and families. The UCLA research team shares the following anecdotes from teachers, the first in Maryland and the second in California.

 We have one student who had attempted to slit her wrists because her family has been separated and she wants to be with her mother. She literally didn't want to live without her mother (2018a, pp. 1-2).

I had one student who came back the day after prom and would not eat or talk to anyone. I finally found out from one of her friends that she came home from prom to find her mom deported and never had the chance to say good-bye or anything. She was suffering but did not know what to do (2018a, p.3).

Some of the documented impacts of separation, detention, and deportation include:

Social-emotional

• increased fear, anxiety, and depression
• lack of motivation and interest in school
• uncertainty about the future in terms of where the student will live and go to school
• post-traumatic stress

Economic uncertainty

• loss of income and instability
• an increase in transiency as families relocate, go into hiding, or move to join loved ones
• reduced access (voluntary or involuntary) to social services and benefits

Care-taking arrangements

• possible transfer of the child into foster care
• an increase in responsibilities (or preparation for that increase) for older siblings as caretakers, breadwinners, and coordinators of logistics or family affairs.

School/community impact

The UCLA team confirmed what other educators have reported, which is that immigration enforcement can have a wide-spread effect on non-immigrant students as well, including an increase in concern, anxiety, grief, and anger over the loss of a friend who may disappear. One teacher notes,

I have already had several students who have parents who have been deported to Mexico and India. One of our students skipped school for 3 weeks when a teacher brought up the topic of immigration in class. Last year I had students missing class to attend their parent's immigration court hearings. All of this is wearing on my students and is causing anxiety and depression. (p. 14)

You can read more about the broader school and community impacts of this enforcement in our article about massive immigration raids in Postville, Iowa, as well as information about the impacts on young children in particular in our section on early childhood education.

Recommended resources

These resources include tip sheets and reports, as well as archived news stories.

Research and reports

• Position Paper on Undocumented Students: The Impact of Immigration Enforcement on Children and Youth (National Association of Secondary School Principals)
• Facing Our Future: Children in the Aftermath of Immigration Enforcement (Urban Institute)
• Trauma and psychological distress in Latino citizen children following parental detention and deportation (APA PsychNet)
• Treating Toxic Stress in Immigrant Children (National Association of School Psychologists)

From Colorín Colorado

• Lessons from Postville: How an Immigration Raid Changed a Small Town and Its Schools (Joy Minikwu, ESL Instructional Coach – Postville School District, Iowa)
• Finding Where the Hope Is: Supporting Immigrant Students as a School Psychologist (Dr. Lisa Peterson, Ph.D., LSSP, NCSP, School Psychologist – Dallas School District, Texas)

The Washington Post

• Diane Guerrero is a successful TV star. But she's still grappling with her parents' deportation
• Meet Sophie Cruz, 5-year-old who gave the Pope a letter because she doesn’t want her parents deported

NPR

• When Immigration Detention Means Losing Your Kids
• With A Deported Father, California Teen Lives Life Between Borders
• Families Affected by Mississippi ICE Raids Scramble to Find Support

Other sources

• Immigrant Students Are Under Pressure. Four Ways Districts Can Support Them (Education Week)
• Mississippi immigration raids thrust kids into adult roles (CNN)
• Why a Texas school district is helping immigrants facing deportation (The Hechinger Report)
• Losing Gloria: A Family Faces Impossible Choices After a Mother's Deportation (California Sunday)
• Second Grader to Michelle Obama: "My mom doesn’t have any papers" (CBS News)

Recommended videos

• Diane Guerrero recalls the day of her parents' deportation (The Washington Post)

Back to top >

Being undocumented

Overview

Many educators may not know that some of their students are undocumented, or what implications being undocumented has. In fact, teacher Lori Dodson notes that many students themselves don't know they are undocumented and don't learn of their status until high school when they apply for a driver's license, a first job, or college. At the same time, many students are navigating complex decisions about what to share or not share about their personal background, experience, and immigration status on a regular basis. (See more on this topic in our section on immigrant students' choices to remain silent about their experiences.)

How does being undocumented impact daily life?

Students who are undocumented or who have family members who are undocumented may experience the following:

• fear of filling out paperwork for benefits and school services, like special education, free- and reduced-price lunch, and financial aid (Gándara and Ee, 2018a)
• missing out on field trips and extracurricular activities due to the paperwork or fear of being out in the community after school hours (Gándara and Ee, 2018a)
• restricted access to employment, medical insurance, and other benefits
• questions of transportation, such as state driver’s licenses policies and the inability to fly without identification
• fear of entering public buildings that require IDs, such as military bases.

Other considerations and impacts include:

• limited access to financial aid for higher education (see more in our section on undocumented students' access to college below)
• possible decisions to relocate
• considerations about "worst-case scenarios"
  • situations for children of different ages
  • situations for children in mixed-status families
  • challenges for undocumented youth who are homeless
  • challenges for undocumented youth who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (who may also be seeking asylum due to persecution in their country)
  • implications of school disciplinary actions.

Note: State-issued ID cards for undocumented immigrants are not protection against immigration enforcement.

Diverse backgrounds among undocumented immigrants

The undocumented population of the U.S. includes immigrants from around the world. Many of those individuals are advocating for more visibility in conversations about immigration. Here are some resources that highlight that diversity:

• Profile of the Unauthorized Population: United States (Migration Policy Institute)
• Unauthorized Immigrant Population Trends for States, Birth Countries and Regions (Pew Research Center)
• Key Facts About Black Immigrants in the U.S. (Pew Research Center)
• 'You Feel Invisible': How America's Fastest-Growing Immigrant Group Is Being Left Out of the DACA Conversation (The Washington Post)
• Raise Our Story: Undocumented Asian Youth Seek Higher Profile in Immigration Debate (Education Week)

Recommended resources

• Booklist for Teens and Adults: Undocumented – Stories of Young Immigrants (Colorín Colorado young adult booklist)
• Educator Guide: Supporting Undocumented Students & Their Families (Informed Immigrants)
• Teachers as Allies: Transformative Practices for Teaching DREAMers and Undocumented Students (Teachers College Press)
• My Undocumented Life: Resources for Undocumented Immigrants and Students
• Undocumented Students in California (The Education Trust-West)
• Supporting Undocumented Students (Harvard Graduate School of Education)
• LGBTQ ‘Dreamers’ Are Particularly Vulnerable as DACA Winds Down – Here’s Why (PBS NewsHour)
• Common Bond for Miami Schools Chief, Student: Being Undocumented (Education Week)
• Position Paper on Undocumented Students: The Rights of Undocumented Students (National Association of Secondary School Principals)

Recommended videos

Student Story: When students share immigration concerns from home

Publishing the book Teachers as Allies

The shifting conversation around citizenship: Julissa Arce

Back to top >

What is DACA?

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a policy enacted during the Obama Administration through executive action in 2012 focused on undocumented youth who have lived in the U.S. since childhood, often referred to as "DREAMers." The DREAMer population is a diverse group representing countries around the world.

DREAM Act legislation (short for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act) has been introduced multiple times in Congress but has not yet passed. You can learn more in our related article and resources about DACA.

Why this matters

Many educators may not understand how DACA works and how changes in the policy can impact families or schools. Researchers at UCLA studying the impact of immigration enforcement on schools found that "many educators appeared to be confused about" DACA — what it is, who qualifies, and what the current status of the program is (p. 22). Changes in DACA would impact not only the children of DACA recipients but thousands of teachers in both K-12 and early childhood settings working with DACA work permits. For more information, as well as interviews with teachers who have DACA, see our related resource section.

To learn more about DACA, you can also:

• Look for networks online to find out what other educators are sharing and discussing.
• Look for colleagues or community members who can speak about its impact on students and families, such as college-level DREAM organizations.

Meet DACA teachers and students

• DACA Voices: Immigration Stories (American Federation of Teachers)
• Documentary: Beyond the Dream (RoadTrip Nation)

Recommended videos

Video: Helping DREAMers tell their stories

The shifting conversation around citizenship: Julissa Arce

Back to top >

What is TPS?

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a type of immigration status. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) explains,

Established by the U.S. Congress in 1990, temporary protected status (TPS) provides legal status to migrants from countries that have suffered natural disasters, protracted unrest, or conflict…It allows migrants to stay in the United States for periods of up to eighteen months, which the U.S. government can renew indefinitely. (Felter & Shendruk, 2018)

If a nation's TPS designation expires, TPS holders, many of whom have lived here for more than two decades, must return to their native country, with few options for staying legally in the U.S.

Why this matters

Ending TPS designation is likely to separate many families who choose not to take their children to countries they feel are unsafe.

Tips for getting started

• Learn more about TPS from the resources below.
• Ask parent liaisons and community organizations if they know whether TPS is an issue of concern for local families. If so, consider connecting families with legal resources so that they can continue to receive updated information and guidance.

Recommended resources

• Temporary Protected Status: An Overview (American Immigration Council)

Recommended videos

• Video: What is Temporary Protected Status? (CNN)

Recommendations for professional development

Framing the conversation

One way you may wish to share information about immigration with colleagues is through professional development. Given the polarizing nature of this topic, we recommend that skilled, experienced trainers in this topic lead these conversations. It may be helpful to start a conversation on immigration by:

• Reminding colleagues to show respect for differing opinions (this is especially effective if all staff members are familiar with the same norms for discussion and teamwork)
• Sharing relevant district policies and initiatives related to serving immigrant students
• Sharing the following quotes for discussion or reference:

As we discussed our district support, we recognized that the heart of the matter was keeping students safe and supporting their continued learning.  This meant that we needed to measure our actions by how they related to supporting the students' learning and social-emotional well-being. This has been helpful in empowering leaders as they make decisions in response to new situations.

It is important that we respect the different viewpoints of others and not silence those opinions if channeled correctly. However, our school division [district] has clear set of core beliefs that need to be adhered to. Most importantly, our staff must show unwavering respect and acceptance of all children regardless if they are an immigrant or not.

Tips for getting started

If planning professional development on these topics, educators and administrators should think about how to:

• identify the most important topics for your context
• establish your goals for training and how it will allow colleagues to better serve students
• establish a climate of respect and trust
• address myths or misconceptions as needed
• help staff understand students' rights and staff members' obligations to protect student privacy
• take the information provided and use it to improve students' experiences at the school
• share culturally responsive ways to address these issues
• be responsive to situations as they arise (rather than waiting too long to address them before they become critical)
• connect to existing districtwide programs
• talk about the ways in which immigration issues may impact staff as well as students.

Discussion questions

These questions may provide some useful entry points into discussion:

• How do you think these experiences might impact students in the classroom and in their social-emotional health?
• What information was new to you, or surprised you?
• What can you do as an educator to support students who have had these experiences?

Recommended resources

• Professional Development Modules: Support for Immigrant and Refugee Students (Californians Together)
• Opinion: How teachers can help anxious students by knowing immigration policy (Post written by Kristina Robertson for the PBS NewsHour Teachers' Lounge Blog)

Recommended videos

Consider using the video "The danger of a single story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to open up discussion, as well as recommended videos throughout this guide.

Back to top >

References

See our complete reference list for works cited in this article.