WASHINGTON (AP) — The last time she saw her husband, the father of her three children, was when he left their Washington apartment a month ago to buy milk and diapers. Before long he called to say he had been pulled over — but not to worry, because it was just local police. The next time she heard from him, he was at a detention center in Virginia.
Since that day, the 40-year-old mother of three has been too afraid to take her two sons to their nearby charter school. Like her husband, who has since been deported, she is an immigrant from Guatemala and has lived in the U.S. illegally for more than a decade. She spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear she would be targeted by immigration authorities.
All three of the couple’s children were born in the nation’s capital, and the older two attend a local charter school. She planned to keep them home until a volunteer offered to drive them. Still, one of the boys was so upset over his father’s absence he missed three days of school one week.
Schools in Washington reopened late last month against the backdrop of a law enforcement surge that brought masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into normally quiet neighborhoods, scenes likely to be replicated elsewhere.
In some Washington communities, the fear spread by the police presence has taken a toll on children. Parents are grappling with how to explain the situation. “In my community, the impact has been immense fear and terror that is threatening student safety getting to and from school every day,” said Ben Williams, a high school social studies teacher.
In northwest Washington’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood, where million-dollar rowhouses and affordable apartments home to immigrant families share the same tree-lined blocks, federal agents became a common sight. Parents began organizing 'walking buses' to accompany groups of children to school, trying to alleviate fears.
Research has linked immigration raids near schools to lower academic outcomes for Latino students, and this phenomenon is not isolated to Washington. Nationwide, laws and policies enacted under the current administration have instigated changes in school attendance as immigrant families keep their children at home.
Educators observe the chilling effects, even if ICE does not directly enter schools, as fear pervades neighborhoods and classrooms. Children separated from their parents face the steepest toll. One mother from Guatemala worries daily about her children’s futures and the American dream she hoped to provide.
As the psychological and educational toll increases, families confront difficult choices about their futures. As the immigration landscape shifts, the repercussions on children remain profound.
