Impacts of Heightened Immigration Enforcement on Children’s Education in Chicago and Charlotte

Introduction by: Helen Stec, New York University and Sophia Rodriguez, New York University

October 29, 2026

Guest Bloggers: Hamutal Bernstein, Diana Guelespe, Laura Betancur, and Julio Salas

In this blog, Urban Institute researchers Hamutal Bernstein, Diana Guelespe, Laura Betancur, and Julio Salas share findings from their October report, examining how heightened immigration enforcement has shaped families’ experiences navigating school environments. Drawing on interviews with parents in Latino mixed-status families in Chicago and Charlotte in mid-2026, the authors demonstrate how heightened immigration enforcement has disrupted children’s educational experiences and daily routines, undermining their emotional well-being, sense of safety at school, and academic performance. These disruptions have potential long-term consequences for both children’s development and their families’ well-being. Focusing on the importance of schools, this blog also demonstrates how supportive school responses to immigration enforcement efforts can mitigate educational harms and keep children connected to school.

We welcome additional comments and reflections. Please email us at: sophia.rodriguez@nyu.edu or through the Immigrant Ed Next website.

By: Hamutal Bernstein, Diana Guelespe, Laura Betancur, and Julio Salas

Background

A Latina mother of three children in Chicago described how she felt as she took her son to school when interviewed in spring 2026:

“Because I have to take him there as fast as I can walk, since I don’t drive. I run there and run back, always with that fear and dread inside me, thinking, What if I run into a van or get stopped? Because the fear—well, I can only speak for myself—the fear that I might get caught out there is still with me.” 

And there are many more like her, members of Latino mixed-status immigrant families, who have had to balance the risk of exposure to enforcement agents with the imperative for their children to attend school amid the current administration’s heightened immigration enforcement policies, which have disrupted how children and families experience and navigate school.

Recent policy shifts have permitted enforcement activity in previously protected areas, and there have been reports of enforcement occurring at or near schools. Communities have felt widespread fear about the threat of immigration enforcement in daily life and the risk of family separation. Though high-visibility enforcement operations in targeted cities eased by spring 2026, quieter tactics continue across the US, and the risk of enforcement remains a constant concern for many families.  

About the Study

An Urban Institute research team conducted 34 interviews with parents in Latino mixed-status families in Chicago and Charlotte in mid-2026, months after high-visibility enforcement operations in those cities subsided but as enforcement threats persisted.

All parents lived in households that included family members who were US citizens and at least one family member who was undocumented, most commonly the parent or their partner. The parents represented the experiences of 92 children, 82 of whom were US citizens. Nearly all parents lived with children under age 18 and most parents and their partners had lived in the US for decades. Parents were recruited with the assistance of community-based organizations.

In this blog, we share our findings on families' experiences navigating school environments, drawing from our October report focusing on the impacts of heightened enforcement on children’s education. Two additional reports detail mothers’ experiences of economic and health hardships and how communities are responding to support families. Please visit the project website at Living Under Heightened Immigration Enforcement.

Findings

Our interviews with parents yielded the following key findings: 

• Nearly half of parents reported that their children had expressed concern about going to school because of the threat of enforcement, perceiving risks to both their parents and themselves, even as US citizens. Children’s reluctance had a variety of reasons, including information they had gotten from the news or social media that ICE was operating near their neighborhood, fears that a parent might be detained while they were away, or knowledge that other students were not going.

• Nearly half of parents reported that their children had stayed home from school for at least a few days because of concerns about immigration enforcement activity.  

• Over half of parents reported concerns about sending or accompanying their children to school because of the risk of either a child or parent encountering ICE on the way. Nearly half of parents changed school transportation routines to reduce their families’ exposure to enforcement risk. 

• Over half of parents described the psychological strain (e.g., worry, anxiety, and depression) of the enforcement environment affecting their children’s academic performance, including declining grades, lack of motivation, and difficulty focusing at school.

• Nearly all parents reported that their family reduced their time in public spaces and many reported not taking or allowing their children to go to parks or participate in after-school activities or sports. 

• Parents in Chicago were more likely than those in Charlotte to describe their children’s schools having some kind of supportive strategy, from information sharing to help with transportation and counseling. 

• Parents recommended that schools strengthen communication to address their concerns and share available supports, help families navigate transportation challenges and offer remote learning when they cannot safely travel, provide emotional support and counseling services, and ensure a more consistent response across schools.

Takeaways

Our findings show that heightened immigration enforcement has changed everyday life for many families. In Chicago and Charlotte, the threat of parents or US-citizen children encountering ICE has shaped children’s educational experiences, mental health, and sense of safety. Enforcement-related fear has disrupted school attendance, transportation routines, after-school and recreational activities, and students’ ability to feel safe at school. These issues created barriers to learning that have translated into poorer emotional well-being and lower academic performance. These disruptions may have consequences for children’s academic success, healthy development, and sense of security and belonging, as well as their families' well-being.

Schools are an important place to take action to support immigrant families. How they respond to the enforcement environment can make a difference for families by sharing information about local enforcement activity and preparedness, offering flexibility for absences, and helping with transportation, food, and mental health needs. Supportive school practices helped families keep children connected to school. When schools intervene, student engagement, learning, behavior, and mental health show better outcomes. When schools failed to support families’ needs, families experienced additional stress and children disconnected from school. To help ensure all families can access the help they need, school districts can establish consistent policies across schools and support educators with resources and training, rather than leaving solutions to individual staff.

Illinois’s Safe Schools for All Act and the broader HB 1312 require schools and other community spaces to establish procedures for responding to federal immigration and law enforcement agents on-site and to safeguard individuals’ privacy and access to services. Additional states are passing similar legislation. Such efforts are promising, as studies have shown protective school practices help mitigate educational harms associated with immigration enforcement. Further research is needed on how state and local policy contexts shape school responses and family experiences, as well as on the role that school districts and trusted community-based organizations can play in reducing the negative impacts on children’s educational experiences as ongoing enforcement activity and the threat of family separation continue to shape daily life for families across the country.