Naming the fear
The start of a school year should be filled with anticipation—new teachers, new friends, fresh routines. Instead, many immigrant and refugee students are beginning the year in fear.
“The usual first-day jitters have been replaced by fear,” said Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America’s Voice, during a recent briefing.
This fear stems from immigration enforcement actions that now reach into spaces once considered safe. Parents hesitate at drop-off, wondering if they will be there to pick up their children in the afternoon. Some children refuse to board the bus at all.
A new report in Psychiatric News underscores the scope:
“Immigration policy in the United States is a source of chronic fear, instability, and trauma for millions… The expansion of enforcement mechanisms—including raids, prolonged detention, and the erosion of protections in schools and other safe spaces—has transformed the landscape of daily life for immigrant families.” (Psychiatric News, 2025)
Imagine a student whispering to a counselor, “I don’t want to go to class today. What if they come for my mom?” These are not isolated fears. More than five million U.S.-born children live with at least one parent without permanent legal status. They may hold citizenship themselves, but they live under constant threat of separation.
At Fugees Family, we see a different pattern. Our students are still coming to school. Why? Because they trust us. They’ve seen us fight for them in the classroom, on the soccer pitch, and even when one of their classmates was detained. That lived proof builds a foundation of safety that makes showing up possible.
How trauma hurts learning
Trauma isn’t just emotional—it’s biological and educational. Chronic stress floods children’s systems with cortisol, impairing memory, concentration, and emotional regulation. Over time, that toxic stress erodes academic progress.
Psychiatric News explains:
“Stable attachment to a caregiver is foundational to a child’s mental health. Today, the ripple effects of immigration enforcement extend into everyday environments once considered safe—such as schools. Children in mixed-status families increasingly live with the fear that a routine day could result in detention or deportation of a loved one.”
Research shows that even the threat of family separation can trigger symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (Rojas-Flores et al., 2017). Adolescents with a detained family member face higher risks of depression, suicidal ideation, and substance use (Roche et al., 2020). Younger children often show nightmares, appetite changes, and developmental regression (MacLean et al., 2020).
Imagine a child avoiding recess because police cars parked nearby spark panic. Or a middle schooler too distracted by fear to focus on fractions. These behaviors are not defiance. They are adaptive responses to instability.
And the academic cost is significant. Chronic absenteeism, disengagement, and cognitive overload from trauma all contribute to lower reading and math performance. Teachers report students withdrawing from participation or shutting down altogether. Every missed day and every lost hour of attention adds up, widening opportunity gaps that may last a lifetime.
This is why experts stress that immigration enforcement is not simply a legal issue. As Psychiatric News notes, it is a structural determinant of health—and by extension, a determinant of educational outcomes.
Why rigor protects as much as care
Faced with traumatized students, it may feel natural to lower expectations. But in reality, rigor, when paired with support, is one of the best antidotes to fear.
Too often, systems confuse support with simplification. For multilingual and immigrant students, this results in watered-down content, disengagement, and stalled growth. Fear is treated as destiny rather than a signal to strengthen instruction. This is not compassion—it is academic neglect. Students who have survived displacement and instability do not need less challenge; they need better scaffolding around high expectations.
We’ve learned that rigorous academics engage the mind and create a sense of normalcy. Students tell us they want to be challenged. For an hour in math class or on the soccer pitch, their focus shifts away from fear. That focus is healing.
This balance—pushing and supporting—creates resilience. It communicates to students: we believe in you enough to expect your best. Academic rigor, far from being harmful, affirms worth and capability.
Educators across the country are modeling this. Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, himself once undocumented, explained that his district has expanded outreach and legal supports while maintaining high academic expectations. He is clear: students cannot thrive academically if they live in terror, but lowering standards only compounds the harm.
Our experience confirms it.
At Fugees Family, we know that engaging content helps students focus and reconnect. When the world feels out of control, challenging lessons can give students something to hold onto. We teach our teachers and partners to know when to push, when to pause, and when to stop.
Safe classrooms plus rigorous teaching equals trust and growth. Trauma-informed immigrant education is not about reducing expectations. It’s about holding students to high expectations in a context of care.
We see this reflected in outcomes. In programs using this combined approach, students have demonstrated accelerated academic growth—exceeding typical annual benchmarks by more than double in reading and math. Cohorts have shown significant percentile gains within a single year, reinforcing that high expectations paired with consistent support enable students to leapfrog academically rather than fall behind.
How schools can minimize trauma and protect learning
Stick to routine
Routine is a stabilizer. Morning greetings, structured lessons, and consistent rituals give children something predictable to rely on. In a world of uncertainty, predictability is safety.
Prioritize meaningful, rigorous learning
Challenging lessons matter. They engage students’ attention, foster resilience, and remind them of their capability. Teachers should balance rigor with sensitivity, pausing when fear overwhelms, but never abandoning high expectations.
Use intentional academic structures that accelerate learning
Trauma-informed rigor requires more than mindset—it requires design. At Fugees Family and partner programs, schedules are intentionally built to maximize access to core instruction. Double periods of math and English Language Arts provide sustained time for skill-building in reading, writing, speaking, and listening, allowing students to accelerate regardless of entry point.
Just as important is integration. English language development is not isolated from content but embedded within it, ensuring students build language through meaningful, challenging work rather than remediation alone.
Create calming, welcoming environments
Trauma lives in the body. Programs that integrate daily art and movement—such as visual arts, music, yoga, or martial arts—help students regulate stress and re-enter learning. These are not enrichment add-ons; they are core components of trauma-informed instruction. By supporting physical and emotional regulation, they allow students to access rigorous academic content. Classrooms can also help calm the nervous system through small choices: music, laughter, sensory supports, and opportunities for movement.
Communicate rights clearly
Families should know their children’s right to a free public education under Plyler v. Doe. Schools should share this message openly in multiple languages and reassure parents that school is a safe place.
Train staff for readiness
Staff need tools to respond effectively. At Fugees, we train teachers and leaders to navigate these realities with steadiness and compassion.
We offer:
Build high-level partnerships
Schools cannot do this alone. Partnerships with legal aid providers reduce fear. Mental health organizations support resilience. Immigrant-serving nonprofits extend safety nets. Instructional partners strengthen bilingual education and rigor. Together, these partnerships create not just safety, but also opportunity.
“Healing for immigrant children and families arises not only from clinical intervention but from the restoration of protective relationships, cultural traditions, and communal ties that support resilience.” (Psychiatric News, 2025)
Partnerships do more than protect—they free students to focus on learning, raising both safety and achievement.
Effective implementation depends on educator readiness. Our professional development model is led by practicing teachers and centers culturally responsive pedagogy that integrates trauma-informed care with academic rigor. This peer-to-peer approach has been met with strong educator confidence and engagement, with the vast majority of participants reporting high satisfaction and increased instructional clarity.
Immigration enforcement is reshaping the climate of education. The trauma it causes is real. We see it in absenteeism, test scores, behavioral issues, and mental health diagnoses. But schools can be more than bystanders.
By combining trauma-informed care with academic rigor, schools can anchor students. Teachers can be steady presences. Classrooms can be both rigorous and healing.
At Fugees Family, we’ve seen the difference. Our students keep showing up because they trust us. They’ve seen us fight for them… in the classroom, on the pitch, and in moments of crisis. That trust makes school a place of safety and growth.
If you are an educator, invest in practices that protect both hearts and minds. If you are a supporter, help us expand this work so more schools can become sanctuaries of resilience and hope.
Together, we can ensure immigrant and refugee students are not defined by trauma, but by their capacity to learn, thrive, and lead.
Frequently asked questions
- How does the trauma from immigration enforcement affect English learners in school?
Trauma can disrupt a student's sense of belonging and their ability to focus on academics. For many, school is a second family where they connect and share problems; when enforcement actions create fear, it threatens this stability and the progress made through intensive interventions.
- What steps can schools take to mitigate the impact of ICE-related trauma?
Educators can benefit from professional development focused on creating a "safety-first" environment. By ensuring every student is seen as an individual and receives tailored support, schools can provide the emotional stability required for students to continue doing amazing things.
- Where can educators and families find specific help for dealing with ICE encounters?
The organization maintains a library of resources, including specialized ICE Encounter and Detention Tools. These materials are designed to help families and schools understand their rights and maintain safety during times of heightened stress.
- Does addressing student trauma through a holistic approach improve academic results?
Yes. When schools address the "whole child" through music, art therapy, and soccer, students feel safe enough to thrive. This approach has led to 89% of students achieving grade-level proficiency within three years, demonstrating that academic excellence and emotional support go hand-in-hand.
- How does Fugees Family work to prevent policy-driven trauma for students?
A core part of the mission involves policy and advocacy to shape laws that protect the rights of refugee and immigrant youth. By building community support and advancing educational justice, the organization works to ensure schools remain safe, high-standard environments.
- How can I help support English learners who are struggling with enforcement-related trauma?
You can help level the playing field by donating to provide the resources necessary for intensive, personalised interventions. Your support ensures that even in difficult times, every child is seen, supported, and set up for a successful future.
