President Donald Trump held true to campaign promises to overhaul the U.S. immigration system by signing 10 executive orders focused on immigration on his inauguration day. The sweeping nature of these orders has rocked immigrant communities across the country, particularly with ICE raids at schools.

For educators, one of the most jarring shifts is that schools are no longer considered areas that Immigration and Customs  Enforcement (ICE) should largely avoid. “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman declared the day after the inauguration, regarding ICE raids at schools.

Huffman went on to say that the administration trusts agents to use “common sense” on or near school campuses to realize the promise to enact mass deportations. This contradicts long-standing policy that sets aside schools, churches, and hospitals as sensitive locations where ICE agents should not carry out enforcement activities.

Already, the threat of such raids has stoked community-wide fears, affecting undocumented family members and neighbors, citizens and residents working to resettle family members, and those whose legal status has just been revoked.

For schools, research and experience tell us what will happen next: Students who are undocumented or in families with mixed legal status will stop attending school and fall behind; families will no longer participate in school events; and they may limit or stop communicating with teachers and schools altogether.

Akin to the pandemic-related school closures and disruptions, many school districts with immigration populations – both in border states and elsewhere – will once again face disruption and crises to manage this. Educational leaders and K-12 educators are on high alert as they consider how to respond to immediate threats of enforcement and the ongoing, wide-ranging effects of mobilizing fear. Furthermore, those supporting immigrant communities are now under threat to comply with enforcement actions they may oppose.

Read the full article about ICE raids at schools by Emily Crawford-Rossi and Rebecca Lowenhaupt at The 74.