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Students are missing school — and educators say their learning is suffering — as the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics continue to spread fear among families.

Kent Pekel is superintendent of Rochester Public Schools. He said the "indiscriminate nature" of ICE detentions are leading parents to keep students home rather than risk family separation.

Pekel compared a two-week period of school attendance in January — when ICE enforcement activity was highest — with the previous month. 

“During this period, we saw an 81 percent increase in excused absences among all students, but a 417 percent increase among students whose first language is not English, a 68 percent increase among Asian American students, and a 376 percent increase among Latino students,” he said. 

A number of districts in the Twin Cities metro have created a virtual learning option for students. Mayor Kaohly Her of St. Paul told 

 on Monday that around 7,000 to 8,000 children in the city had opted to attend school remotely.

Pekel said they are enrolling students in their online school. He pointed to lessons learned from the COVID pandemic: that extended absences harm student academic learning, social development and mental health. 

“We are hearing of the devastating effects that ICE has had on our education system that we have worked so hard to bring back from the COVID pandemic … and now it is very clear that we are right back at ground zero,” said state Sen. Mary Kunesh, DFL-New Brighton, who chairs the Senate Education Finance Committee.

As with the pandemic, teachers described offering online learning options, distributing food in schools, and trying to create a sense of normalcy for children who are scared.

The latest on ICE in Minnesota

Emily Bright

Author

Absences at Rochester Public Schools are up compared to last month, correlating with an increase in federal immigration officers in Minnesota. 

Educators warn of the negative effects of ICE on student learning

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