The Intersection of Education and Immigration
Massachusetts is home to over 90,000 English Language Learners, representing 9.5% of the state’s public school population and making them the fastest-growing student demographic in the Commonwealth. These students bring rich cultural and linguistic diversity to classrooms across Massachusetts, with 18.5% of Massachusetts students already speaking a first language other than English.
But for these students and their families, the classroom has become more than just a place of learning—it’s become a sanctuary in an increasingly uncertain world. Recent changes in federal immigration enforcement policies have transformed the educational landscape, creating new challenges that extend far beyond traditional academic concerns.
The New Reality: Schools No Longer “Safe Spaces”
For years, schools were considered protected areas under federal immigration policy. Since 2011, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has listed schools as “sensitive locations” where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests, interviews, or searches should not take place absent unusual circumstances. However, the Department of Homeland Security under the newly sworn-in second-term president announced last week that it was ending a policy that restricted Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ ability to arrest undocumented people at or near so-called sensitive locations, such as religious institutions, schools and hospitals.
This policy change has sent shockwaves through Massachusetts school communities, where roughly half of students speak a language other than English at home in districts like Boston Public Schools.
The Immediate Impact: Empty Desks and Anxious Hearts
The effects of increased immigration enforcement have been swift and measurable in Massachusetts schools. Across the Commonwealth, superintendents report concerning patterns in student attendance.
Dramatic Attendance Drops
Framingham Superintendent Bob Tremblay remembers being shocked by the impact on attendance following a rumor in late January that ICE agents were nearby. “We have just over 9,000 students that attend school every day in Framingham — and we had about 2,500 students not show up that day”. This represents more than a quarter of the district’s entire student body staying home due to immigration fears.
Similar patterns emerged across Massachusetts:
- Lynn schools saw a 15% increase in absences the week of Jan. 20. The following week of Jan. 27, the district saw a 20% increase in absences
- In the Boston-area, reports suggest that over 1,000 students did not show up to school following news of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity nearby
- More than 1,000 students missed school one day after reported ICE raids in
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Teachers on the Front Lines
Massachusetts educators are grappling with challenges they never anticipated when they entered the profession.
“These threats take an emotional, psychological, and physical toll on our children and their families,” a statement from the Boston Teachers Union and the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts said. “If continued, they will have a chilling effect on our schools and communities”.
“There’s a reason why schools… are supposed to be protected: because we want to make sure that our students, regardless of immigration status, are going to school and receiving the education,” says Jessica Tang, president of the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts.
Community Organizations Stepping Up
Organizations across Massachusetts are working to support immigrant families and students:
At La Colaborativa in Chelsea, President Gladys Vega tells of pulling clients inside from the food pantry line because she received a credible report that ICE agents were on Broadway. “I was so nervous. The staff was extremely, extremely, nervous. My staff was running around quietly closing doors”.
Despite the fear, community leaders like Vega continue advocating for educational access: “If ICE comes on a Wednesday, on Thursday everyone in the community knows, and they decide not to send children to school or not to go to work”, but she pushes families to keep sending their children to school.
The Path Forward: Protecting Education Access
Massachusetts stands at a crossroads. The state has made significant investments in multilingual education and supporting English learners, but immigration enforcement policies threaten to undermine these efforts.
What Schools Can Do
“While there’s no place right now that is the safest for immigrant families, in many ways, schools are safer than even our own homes,” said Viridiana Carrizales, co-founder of ImmSchools, a nonprofit that works with schools across the country. “That’s one of the things that we’re trying to tell families: Your kid might have more protections, or might be even safer at school than if you keep them at home”.