What Do ICE Raids Teach Kids?

by Quintessa Williams, Word in Black

For Black students, the intersection of race and immigration status compounds to make school a place of fear.

Just one day after taking office, President Trump signed an executive order authorizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to resume raids in sensitive locations, including schools and churches. Immigrant rights groups and education advocates immediately sounded the alarm, warning that these policies would have far-reaching consequences, especially for the most vulnerable.

Now, months later, their warnings have come to pass.

On June 6, ICE launched military-style raids in California, days after federal authorities deployed the National Guard and hundreds of Marines to Los Angeles, a self-declared sanctuary city.

Pew Research Center data shows that 1 in 10 Black Americans is an immigrant. And while much of the public debate has focused on immigration policy writ large, advocates say the impact of the raids creates a climate of fear for immigrant students.

They “are afraid to leave their homes,” says Dr. Christopher Nellum, executive director of Ed-Trust. “Some parents no longer feel safe taking their children to school.”

In recent weeks, some immigrant students have skipped graduation. Others aren’t showing up to summer school — not because they don’t want to attend, but because they’re afraid they’ll be detained.

Immigration raids “are an act of terror against the very communities that fuel our schools, colleges, and way of life,” Nellum says. “Families are being torn apart, students are traumatized, and educators are left reeling. When they are under attack, our educational institutions are under attack.”

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