By Nazila Ramjan

As thousands take to the streets to protest across the nation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids are perpetuating a quieter crisis that looms over the upcoming school year for New York City students: chronic absenteeism. In my Jamaica, Queens, classroom, something more profound has been driving my and many other students away: fear of ICE, of family separation, and of what might happen just in walking to school.

Chronic absenteeism is no longer just about truancy or disengagement. It’s a crisis rooted in worry, driven by policies that make schools feel unsafe. In January, President Trump directed the Department of Homeland Security to revoke protections for “sensitive locations” like schools, stripping them of their long-held sanctuary status. This marked a seismic shift in federal guidance. 

The result? Schools like mine, once considered safe havens, are now potential sites of immigration enforcement and deportation. A study by the Migration Policy Institute shows that crackdowns on immigration and absenteeism are increasingly interconnected: As stricter immigration enforcement happens, anxiety levels rise and kids miss school out of fear. 

Near the end of last school year, I saw a student quietly crying during my English class. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me she was distracted by an upcoming court date that could lead to her deportation. Although my colleague wrote her a letter to help her stay in New York, there was nothing I could do to ease her anxiety at that moment or make the importance of my English lesson compete with that of her uncertain future. Each day, when arriving at school, I seek her out, ensuring she hasn’t joined my school’s ranks of students who have disappeared overnight without warning or explanation. 

Nationally, 96% of teachers report that chronic absenteeism affects learning. When students miss more than 10% of school days in a year, they forego lessons that significantly affect their long-term success. In my school alone, where more than 200 students live in temporary housing, the average attendance is only 70%. Even those who show up often arrive late — they’re working jobs, lacking reliable transit, or navigating unstable lives at home. Ensuing absenteeism stalls classroom momentum, weakens peer relationships, and widens the achievement gap.

The fear being felt right now ripples beyond immigrant families. Students in class face disrupted learning environments, while also being uncertain of whom they can trust, and worrying about their classmates. They cannot focus in class, and as I’ve witnessed, they’re increasingly lingering in empty hallways, even afraid to walk home.
While one could point to the fact that schools like mine offer students language support, legal aid, and community outreach, even those supports can’t undo the broader effects of the Trump administration’s assault on school and student protections, and the impact on chronic absenteeism. Instead of focusing on other distractions like book bans or censorship on campus, the administration should be creating environments where students feel safe to learn, with a sense of belonging. Teachers overwhelmingly agree with this premise: 74% support the guaranteed right of undocumented students to attend public school. 

No student should have to choose between education and safety. Yet, that is precisely the choice many are forced to make, fueling a national absenteeism crisis and undermining the foundation of public education. This is not a partisan issue; it’s an issue of humanity.

My New York City classroom shouldn’t be a battleground for politics. While schools nationwide stand firm in protecting students and their education, educators and community leaders must continue advocating for policies that keep students learning, regardless of immigration status.

And we, both as a country and right here in New York City, must demand that leaders guarantee schools are the safe havens for learning that they ought to be.

Nazila Ramjan is a New York City educator and member of Educators for Excellence–New York.

This post appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.