Immigration Enforcement at School Resource Sheet for Educators, Site Reps, and Families

This resource is intended to help educators, union leaders, and families know what to do if immigration enforcement activity occurs at or near a school site. It is not legal advice. When in doubt, contact district leadership, union leadership, and a trusted immigration legal services provider.

Core Commitments

Every student has the right to attend public school, regardless of immigration or citizenship status. California Department of Education guidance states that all children in the United States have the right to a free and appropriate public education, regardless of immigration status.

Schools should remain safe and welcoming spaces for all students and families. Districts such as LAUSD, OUSD, SFUSD, San José Unified, and WCCUSD have posted immigration-related resources emphasizing family preparedness, student rights, safe school environments, and access to legal/community support.

California law and Attorney General guidance direct schools to limit participation in immigration enforcement to the fullest extent allowed by law and to protect student and family information.

If ICE or Immigration Enforcement Comes to a School Site

Educators and school staff should not handle this alone. Follow district protocol immediately.

Do not obstruct officers, argue, or attempt to block them physically. Your role is to follow protocol, protect students’ rights, and immediately contact the appropriate administrator.

California Attorney General quick-reference guidance says school officials should notify the designated LEA administrator and advise the immigration officer that, absent exigent circumstances, staff must first receive direction from the administrator before proceeding.

Do not invite officers into classrooms, staff areas, counseling offices, student gathering areas, or other nonpublic parts of campus unless the district administrator has reviewed the situation and legal documents.

California’s AB 49 framework requires school officials, to the extent practicable, to request valid identification from immigration enforcement officers seeking access to nonpublic areas of a school site.

AB 49 also restricts LEAs and school personnel from disclosing education records or information about students, families, households, teachers, or school employees to immigration enforcement without written consent or valid legal authority such as a judicial warrant, judicial subpoena, or court order.

Write down the date, time, names/badge numbers if available, the agency involved, what was requested, what documents were presented, who was contacted, and what happened. Share the information with the principal, district office, and union leadership.

Fear spreads quickly. Share verified information only through trusted channels such as district communications, union leadership, or rapid response/legal networks. San Francisco officials and community organizations have warned that false ICE rumors can cause serious fear and confusion for families.

Resources for Union Leaders

Site reps can ask the district and site administrators:

Who is the designated administrator if immigration enforcement appears at the school?
Has every front office staff member been trained?
Has the district adopted AB 49-compliant policies?
Are protocols posted or easily available to staff?
Are family resources available in the major languages spoken in the district?
Does the district have a plan for counseling and student support after an incident?
Does the district have a rapid communication plan to prevent rumors and misinformation?
Are emergency contact forms and caregiver forms being updated regularly?
Are families being referred to trusted legal resources rather than unverified providers?

Dear Families,

Our schools are committed to being safe and welcoming spaces for every student, regardless of immigration status, language, national origin, or background. Every child has the right to attend public school.

We encourage all families to update emergency contact information, create a family preparedness plan, and review Know Your Rights resources from trusted organizations. If your family is experiencing fear or concern related to immigration enforcement, please contact your school office, counselor, family liaison, or a trusted community legal organization for support.

Our priority is the safety, dignity, and well-being of every student and family in our school community.

Supporting Students and Families

Families do not need to panic, but they should have a plan.

Update emergency contacts at school.
Add trusted adults who can pick up your child if needed.
Create a family preparedness plan.
LAUSD’s immigration resources include guidance on family preparedness plans, important documents, contact numbers, legal resources, and Know Your Rights workshops.
Identify a trusted adult caregiver.
California’s Family Preparedness Plan Act, AB 495, took effect January 1, 2026, and expands family preparedness options, including caregiver authorization tools for situations where a parent becomes unavailable due to detention, deportation, incarceration, military deployment, or other short-term crises.
Keep important documents in a safe place.
Families may want copies of birth certificates, school records, medical information, emergency contacts, attorney/legal aid contacts, and caregiver authorization documents.
Know your rights.
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center provides free Red Cards in multiple languages. These cards explain constitutional rights and can help people assert those rights during an encounter with immigration officers. ILRC warns that Red Cards are free and should not be purchased from unofficial sources.
Use trusted legal services.
Avoid immigration scams. Families should seek help from reputable nonprofit legal organizations, county immigrant support programs, or licensed immigration attorneys.

Families should consult a trusted legal provider for individual advice, but general Know Your Rights resources commonly emphasize:

You have the right to remain silent.
You do not have to answer questions about where you were born or your immigration status.
You may ask to speak with an attorney.
You do not have to sign documents you do not understand.
If officers come to your home, you do not have to open the door unless they show a valid judicial warrant signed by a judge.
Carry a Know Your Rights card and share copies with family members.

Source: ILRC Know Your Rights and Red Cards resources.

Make sure families know they have the right to send their children to school regardless of immigration status.
Encourage families to keep emergency contacts updated with the school.
Share Know Your Rights resources in multiple languages.
Connect families with trusted legal service providers, not notarios or unverified consultants.
Work with the district to ensure every site has a clear protocol for immigration enforcement visits.
Ask the district to train administrators, front office staff, site supervisors, counselors, and school safety personnel.
Make sure families know the district does not need immigration status or Social Security numbers for school enrollment. OUSD’s Know Your Rights materials state that immigration status and Social Security numbers are not needed for school enrollment.

Stay calm and supportive.
Do not ask about the student’s or family’s immigration status.
Refer the student to a counselor, social worker, administrator, or designated support staff.
Help the family connect to legal/community resources if they request help.
Notify union/site leadership if the incident affects school climate or student safety.

Advocate for clear district communication to families.
Request additional counseling, translation, and family outreach supports.
Work with community partners to offer Know Your Rights workshops.
Make sure students are not bullied, targeted, or singled out because of immigration status, language, ethnicity, national origin, or perceived status.

Trauma-Informed Support

What Educators and School Staff Can Do

Students experiencing immigration-related fear may be particularly sensitive to uncertainty and changes in routine. Whenever possible:

Maintain predictable classroom and school routines.
Explain changes in schedules or procedures ahead of time.
Remind students that school staff are there to support them.
Identify trusted adults and safe spaces students can access when they feel overwhelmed.
Avoid unnecessarily exposing students to graphic news coverage, videos of enforcement actions, or repeated discussion of frightening events.

Do not promise a student that “nothing will happen” or that their family is completely safe. Instead, provide reassurance about what you can control: You are safe with me right now. There are adults here who will help you.

If a student wants to talk, listen calmly and allow the student to determine how much they want to share.

Educators should:

Avoid asking about the student’s or family’s immigration status.
Avoid pressing for details about detention, deportation, migration experiences, or family circumstances.
Validate the student’s emotions without assuming how they feel.
Use open-ended questions such as, “What would help you feel supported today?”
Respect a student’s decision not to talk.

A student’s silence, irritability, inability to concentrate, or reluctance to participate may be a stress response rather than defiance.

Traumatic and frightening experiences often involve a loss of control. Providing small, appropriate choices can help restore a student’s sense of agency.

Examples might include allowing a student to:

choose whether to speak privately with a counselor or another trusted adult;
temporarily work in a quieter location;
take a brief break when overwhelmed;
choose whether to participate in a classroom conversation about current events;
contact an approved caregiver or family member consistent with school procedures.

Students should never be required to publicly discuss their immigration experiences or their family’s circumstances.

Fear, disrupted sleep, family separation, court proceedings, changes in caregiving, or additional responsibilities at home can temporarily interfere with learning.

Schools should consider reasonable short-term supports such as:

additional time for assignments;
reduced or prioritized assignments;
opportunities to make up missed work;
flexibility around attendance-related academic consequences where permitted;
help organizing assignments and deadlines;
access to tutoring or other academic support.

Trauma-informed practice does not mean lowering expectations indefinitely. It means recognizing that students may temporarily need additional support in order to meet those expectations.

Stress may appear as withdrawal, anger, difficulty paying attention, increased absences, emotional outbursts, or changes in behavior.

Before responding solely through discipline, educators should consider whether fear, family disruption, or traumatic stress may be contributing to the behavior. When appropriate, use restorative, supportive, and problem-solving approaches and involve counselors, social workers, psychologists, or other trained staff.

Trauma should not excuse behavior that threatens safety, but the response should avoid unnecessarily escalating or retraumatizing a student.

Figueroa (2027) outlined in their study on Latino families who experienced ICE detainment, that families found ICE detention to be incredibly “destabilizing” (p. 73). Immigration detention opens up family members to increased distress, isolation, trauma, and exacerbated mental health challenges. Being isolated from family can also have a significant negative impact. Figueroa (2027) reported that families who have been impacted by ICE incarceration experience helplessness, anxiety, and fear.

Immigration enforcement activity or even credible rumors, increased enforcement in the community, or the detention or deportation of a loved one, can create significant fear and stress for students and families. Students may worry about whether a parent will be home when they return from school, whether they or someone they love will be detained, or whether coming to school places their family at greater risk.

These experiences may affect attendance, concentration, behavior, sleep, academic performance, and a student’s sense of safety and belonging at school. Students may become withdrawn, unusually quiet, angry, distracted, tearful, hypervigilant, or reluctant to separate from caregivers. Younger children may regress developmentally or complain of headaches or stomachaches. Older students may disengage from school, take on additional family responsibilities, or avoid discussing what is happening.

A trauma-informed response does not require educators to become therapists. It means creating conditions that emphasize safety, predictability, trust, connection, choice, and access to additional support.

Following an Immigration Enforcement Incident or Community Crisis

When enforcement activity, detention, deportation, or a widely circulated enforcement rumor affects the school community, districts and school sites should consider a coordinated trauma-informed response.

Provide accurate and timely information while protecting individual privacy.
Clearly distinguish verified information from rumors.
Increase the visibility and availability of counselors, social workers, psychologists, family liaisons, and other trusted support staff.
Provide information and support in families’ home languages.
Reach out to affected families through trusted staff or community partners rather than requiring families to navigate school systems alone.
Offer flexible opportunities for students to access counseling or emotional support during the school day.
Monitor attendance and reach out supportively when students suddenly stop attending.
Ensure that students experiencing family separation or caregiver disruption have a designated adult at school who knows their situation and can help coordinate support.
Partner with trusted community organizations that can address legal services, food, housing, transportation, mental health, and other immediate family needs.
Remind staff that students should not be singled out or asked publicly about immigration status or family circumstances.

The detention or deportation of a parent, caregiver, sibling, or other loved one can be particularly traumatic. Separation from a caregiver can affect a child’s sense of safety, attachment, trust, and stability.

When a school becomes aware that a student has experienced family separation:

Identify a trusted adult at school who can check in regularly with the student.
Determine whether caregiving, transportation, meals, housing, or other basic needs have changed.
Coordinate support among appropriate staff while protecting the student’s privacy.
Avoid repeatedly asking the student to retell what happened.
Provide additional academic flexibility when needed.
Ask the student and caregiver what information, if any, they want teachers or other staff to know.
Connect the family with qualified mental health, legal, and community resources when requested.

The goal should be to provide stability and connection without making the student feel watched, labeled, or defined by what happened to their family.

Not every student experiencing immigration-related stress will identify themselves or seek counseling. Some may fear that sharing information could put their family at risk.

Schools should therefore use universal supports — practices that benefit everyone without requiring students to disclose immigration status or personal circumstances. These can include:

welcoming classroom environments;
predictable routines;
access to trusted adults;
regular social-emotional check-ins;
multilingual family communication;
schoolwide mental health resources;
clear anti-bullying expectations;
opportunities for students to seek help privately.

A referral to a school counselor, psychologist, social worker, or qualified mental health provider may be appropriate when a student experiences persistent or significant:

fear, panic, or anxiety;
prolonged sadness or withdrawal;
inability to concentrate or function at school;
severe changes in behavior;
frequent unexplained physical complaints;
sleep-related difficulties affecting school;
significant attendance changes;
hopelessness;
or other changes that substantially interfere with daily functioning.

Educators should follow district protocols for urgent mental health or safety concerns.

Immigration enforcement can affect students beyond those whose families are directly involved. Students may experience bullying or harassment based on language, ethnicity, national origin, accent, perceived immigration status, or assumptions about their families.

Schools should respond promptly to such behavior and reinforce that every student belongs in the school community.

Trauma-informed support should also be culturally and linguistically responsive. Whenever possible, schools should involve trusted bilingual staff, family liaisons, community organizations, and culturally responsive mental health providers.

Figueroa (2027) found that adults who were able to speak about their experiences and name their lived experience were able to find a sense of power. If a student wishes to speak of their experience to a trusted adult, allow them to share without judgment or comments and provide a space for listening. Giving students an opportunity to share about their experience does not mean centering them as a lesson for others or as a way to romanticize the experience. Instead, educators should ensure there is space within their class for students to find meaningful ways of expression. These types of activities may include: opportunities to share, communicate, write, journal, or create art or music as an example.

Educators, counselors, office staff, and site representatives may also experience stress, grief, anger, helplessness, or secondary traumatic stress when supporting students and families.

Districts and unions should encourage:

clear roles and protocols so individual staff members do not feel responsible for handling a crisis alone;
opportunities for staff debriefing and consultation;
access to employee assistance or mental health resources;
training on trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices;
reasonable boundaries so staff can provide compassionate support without assuming responsibilities that belong to attorneys, mental health clinicians, or other professionals.

Taking care of the adults supporting students strengthens the school’s ability to provide calm, consistent, and sustained support.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) identifies six principles that can guide trauma-informed environments:

Safety • Trust and Transparency • Peer Support • Collaboration • Empowerment, Voice, and Choice • Cultural, Historical, and Gender Responsiveness

Applied in schools, these principles mean responding to immigration-related fear in ways that help students and families feel safe, respected, informed, connected, and empowered rather than isolated or stigmatized.

Sources and References

Trauma-Informed Approaches and Programs.
Defines trauma-informed approaches and the core principles of safety, peer support, trust and transparency, collaboration, empowerment/voice/choice, and cultural, historical, and gender responsiveness.

Child Trauma Toolkit for Educators.
Provides guidance for teachers, administrators, school staff, and families on recognizing traumatic stress and supporting students in school settings. Recommendations include maintaining routines, providing appropriate choices, offering temporary academic accommodations, and referring students for additional support when needed.

Creating, Supporting, and Sustaining Trauma-Informed Schools: A System Framework.
Provides a schoolwide framework for building trauma-informed environments that address the needs of students, staff, administrators, and families through universal, targeted, and intensive supports.

School Psychologists Adapt to Increased Immigration Enforcement. March 2026.
Reviews emerging evidence regarding the effects of heightened immigration enforcement on students, including increased anxiety, absenteeism, disengagement, and the need for school-based psychological and community supports.

Figueroa, K. (2027). Echoes of trauma: Understanding the psychological and mental health impact of ICE detention on latinos (Order No. 32743263). Available from ProQuest One Academic. (3361579209).
https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/echoes-trauma-understanding-psychological-mental/docview/3361579209/se-2

Kirksey, J. Jacob, et al.
Immigration Arrests and Educational Impacts: Linking ICE Arrests to Declines in Achievement, Attendance, and School Climate and Safety in California.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1323714.pdf

Sattin-Bajaj, Carolyn & Kirksey, J. Jacob.
Effects of Immigration Enforcement on Students in California. October 2022.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED624638.pdf

Gándara, Patricia.
Schools Under Siege: The Impact of Immigration Enforcement on Educational Equity. 2021.
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED614168

Mumma, Kirsten S.
Absent and Afraid? Immigration Enforcement and Student Attendance. 2025.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED678191.pdf

Dee, Thomas S.
Recent Immigration Raids Increased Student Absences. EdWorkingPaper, June 2025.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED674079.pdf

Immigration Enforcement at School Resources

Immigration Enforcement at School Resource Sheet for Educators, Site Reps, and Families

Core Commitments

On this page

If ICE or Immigration Enforcement Comes to a School Site

Stay Calm, Do Not Physically Interfere

Notify the Principal or Designated District Administrator Immediately

Ask the Officer to Wait in a Public/Front Office Area

Request Identification and Documentation

Do Not Provide Access to Nonpublic Areas Without Proper Legal Authority

Document What Happened

Do Not Spread Unverified Rumors

Resources for Union Leaders

Union Site Rep Checklist

Sample Message to Families

Supporting Students and Families

Family Preparedness: What Families Can Do Now

Family-Facing “Know Your Rights” Reminders

Before Any Incident

If a Student is Scared or Reports Immigration Activity

After an Incident or Rumor

Trauma-Informed Support

What Educators and School Staff Can Do

Reestablish a Sense of Safety

Listen Without Interrogating

Give Students Appropriate Choices and a Sense of Control

Be Flexible with Academics When Appropriate

Avoid Punitive Responses to Trauma-Related Behavior

Immigrant Families and Students Are Especially Vulnerable and Susceptible to Trauma

Following an Immigration Enforcement Incident or Community Crisis

What Schools Should Do

Supporting Students Experiencing Family Separation

Pay Attention to Students Who May Not Ask for Help

Watch for Signs That Additional Support May Be Needed

Protect Belonging and Prevent Stigma

Empower Students and Families By Giving Them a Voice

Support the Adults Supporting Students

A Trauma-Informed Approach: Remember the Six Principles

Local and State Resource Links to Share

Helpful Links and Resources

Sources and References

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)

American Psychological Association (APA)

References

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