Two investigations show how immigration enforcement is draining schools and upending children. Drops in attendance tied to ICE actions are costing districts revenue — one Minnesota district could lose $1 million under a 15-day absence rule. Thousands of U.S. citizen children face sudden displacement, foster care, or being sent abroad after parents are detained or deported. The reporting highlights both budgetary strain and acute harm to children’s stability and schooling.
ICE Raids Are Emptying Classrooms and Hitting School Budgets — U.S. Citizen Kids Pay the Price
Two investigative pieces from The 74 reveal how large-scale immigration enforcement under the Trump administration continues to ripple through schools — shrinking enrollment, reducing funding and upending children’s lives.
Reporter Linda Jacobson documents how empty desks are piling up: students absent from class, families detained, and parents or students who have moved or fled the country. Because many states base school funding on attendance or per-pupil counts, declines in enrollment translate directly into lost revenue. In California, for example, funding is tied to daily average attendance. In Minnesota — where immigration enforcement actions turned deadly in January — state rules require districts to remove students from the rolls after 15 consecutive days of absence. One suburban Minneapolis district faces an estimated $1 million reduction to a $51 million budget unless it secures an emergency exemption.
“I remember walking in the hallways going, ‘Holy God, where are all the kids?’” an employee in a Minnesota district told Linda Jacobson. “It was eerie.”
Jo Napolitano’s reporting explores what happens when parents disappear after detention or deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Thousands of children affected are U.S. citizens, yet they often experience abrupt upheaval: some are sent abroad with newly issued passports to a parent’s birth country they do not know; others are placed with relatives or friends who may themselves have insecure immigration status and fear taking them in; many enter foster care; and some are temporarily or longer-term left to fend for themselves.
The Trump administration has offered to limit immigration enforcement near schools in negotiations with Democrats, but district leaders say they’re already facing budget cuts because of high absenteeism and lost enrollment. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)
“We’ve heard about 15- and 16-year-olds living by themselves for several weeks because their parents were detained and they had no idea where they were,” an advocate said. “ICE was not checking to make sure they were OK. These are U.S. citizen kids.”
Other Recent School-Safety and Education Headlines
High-Speed Drones Proposed for School Security: The Wall Street Journal reports on dark-colored drones nicknamed "Black Arrows" that can reach 100 mph and are being pitched as a way to confront active shooters by breaching windows and disabling assailants.
Homeschooling Debate Intensifies in Connecticut: CT Mirror coverage highlights renewed scrutiny after the arrest of a stepfather in the death of a 12-year-old homeschooler — the second such death in five months — and recalls a 2025 case in which a man said he had been held captive under the guise of homeschooling.
Fewer Suspensions in New York City: From July to December 2025, NYC schools issued about 9,200 suspensions, an 8% decline from the same period in 2024, including a nearly 22% drop in long-term superintendent-level suspensions. Officials are still studying the reasons for the decrease.
Driverless Car Incidents Continue: The National Transportation Safety Board opened an investigation after a driverless vehicle passed a stopped Texas school bus last month. Austin ISD reported 24 Waymo violations as of January and has asked the company to halt operations during school commute times.
Opera About School Shootings Debuts: The New York Times praises a 2021 Finnish opera, Innocence, now staged at the Metropolitan Opera, for confronting a school shooting and its aftermath with compassion and stark honesty.
Federal Guidance on LGBTQ+ Protections Changed: The U.S. Department of Education announced it was rescinding agreements under the Obama and Biden administrations with five school districts and one college that had promoted LGBTQ+ student inclusion, saying those agreements improperly expanded Title IX to encompass gender identity rather than biological sex.
Investigation Into AI's Role in a School Shooting: Florida authorities are probing reports that ChatGPT may have aided a shooter by providing instructions minutes before a 2024 attack at Florida State University’s Student Union that left two dead and five wounded.
And A Lighter Note: Finn, a border collie/Australian shepherd mix, makes a cameo as The 74’s unofficial mascot — contemplating dinner time in California.
Read the in-depth reporting to understand both the fiscal strain on districts and the human cost borne by children and families impacted by immigration enforcement.
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