More than two-thirds of U.S. high school principals have reported ripple effects from immigration enforcement fears in the past school year, according to a survey by the University of California, Los Angeles’ Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access.
The survey findings, published in December, add to growing quantitative and qualitive data that show how the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda is upending educators’ ability to create stable learning environments as escalated enforcement depresses attendance and can hurt academic achievement.
School leaders have had to navigate fear and anxiety among immigrant students and their families since the Trump administration rescinded a policy memo early last year that classified schools as protected areas from immigration enforcement. Experts have advised education leaders to develop firm protocols on what happens if federal agents arrive at a school. In some cases, districts have either offered or considered offering temporary virtual learning options for students fearful of coming to school.
The UCLA survey, conducted between June and August 2025 with 606 principals, focused on how public high schools are educating students to be citizens in a democracy at a time when the broader social and political environment has created several challenges, said lead researcher John Rogers, who directs the university’s Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access. One of the challenges the survey addressed was federal immigration enforcement.
Close to two-thirds of surveyed principals reported that “students from immigrant families missed school due to policies or political rhetoric related to immigrants.” A majority (57.8%) said immigrant parents and guardians had left the local community in response to immigration enforcement fears, and were rumored to have moved out of state or left the country.
“Fear undermines the ability of public schools to foster a civic community,” Rogers said.
Principals find themselves in a difficult spot
The UCLA survey included follow-up qualitative interviews with participants. There, principals shared that attendance declines tied to immigration enforcement began as early as President Donald Trump’s inauguration last year, when families were unsure of what was to come.
Since then, principals have reported cases of high school students not attending school due to new responsibilities at home such as taking care of younger siblings because their caregivers have been detained by federal agents or new responsibilities outside the house when caregivers have grown too fearful to leave home.
The survey itself was conducted before major immigration enforcement operations took place in U.S. cities last fall, including Chicago, and well before this month when federal agents killed two U.S. citizens during operations in Minneapolis.
Principals are navigating shifting federal immigration policy while also meeting requirements to serve all students regardless of their immigration status, as dictated by the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe.
Last fall, the EdWeek Research Center conducted its own survey of district leaders, principals, and teachers and found similar results, with the educators reporting increased fear and anxiety among immigrant students and absences due to heightened immigration enforcement.
Principals find themselves in a uniquely difficult spot when it comes to addressing these fears of immigration enforcement, said Luma Mufleh, founder of Fugees Family, an organization that works with schools on serving newcomer immigrant students.
They work more directly with students and are attuned to their concerns but remain beholden to district policies, including what they can do if federal agents show up asking for school building access or student information.
“They want to know what they’re able to say while not violating district policy, but if your district doesn’t have a policy, you’re putting your principals in a really bad position,” Mufleh said.
While principals serving immigrant families have always had to navigate immigration enforcement to some extent, the current surge of enforcement operations has created confusion and panic among families that didn’t exist under prior presidential administrations, Mufleh said.
The Trump administration has repeatedly said its immigration operations aim to remove undocumented immigrants with criminal records, and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told a Michigan newspaper this week that agents don’t target schools and bus stops. But agents have detained people near schools and detained four children during recent operations in Minnesota. Agents have also detained U.S. citizens and a rising percentage of its arrests have been of people without criminal records.
In addition, social media have proliferated with highly produced videos and photos from federal immigration agents conducting arrests, which further stoke fear, she said.
“[Students] are going on social media and their algorithm is feeding them these videos that are created to incite fear and panic,” Mufleh said.
Principals can take action to support immigrant families
Through all the pressures they face in following district policies and state laws while also serving students, principals are taking action where they can.
More than 75% of principals in the UCLA survey report they have “[c]reated a school plan to respond to visits from federal agents.”
Nearly half (47.2%) reported that they have “[c]reated a school plan to address student needs if parents or guardians experience deportation.” And almost half of principals (44.8%) reported that they have “[c]reated professional development for staff on how to support students from immigrant families.”
Sometimes schools may not have all the resources needed. More than half of principals (57.3%) reported in the survey that their school partnered with “community-based organizations who support students.”
If there’s no district policy on immigration enforcement, Mufleh said principals can lean on their schools’ existing law enforcement protocols that often require warrants and notification of parents or guardians before any police interactions with minors.
Principals can check in with teachers and students on what is stressing them out to give them the space and resources needed to process emotions. Principals also can share what they’re hearing with district leaders so they’re better equipped to change policies and protocols if needed or bring in extra support.
How principals communicate with families and their communities also matters, UCLA’s Rogers said.
“It’s important for public school principals to articulate that all members of our school community are valued, need to be treated with dignity and respect, and that we all are in this together as a school community,” he said.
