The Fear is Everywhere: U.S. High School Principals Report Widespread Effects of Immigration Enforcement
by John Rogers and Joseph Kahne with the Democracy and Education Research Team
This report aims to deepen our understanding of the educational impact of intensified immigration enforcement during the first months of the second Trump administration. Drawing on a nationally representative survey of 606 high school principals, we assess how schools across the United States were affected by enforcement efforts in the latter half of the 2024–2025 school year. We consider four questions:
How widely felt, across U.S. public high schools, were concerns of students from immigrant families about their well-being and the well-being of their families?
How widely experienced, across U.S. public high schools, were declines in the attendance and learning of students from immigrant families?
How widely endured, across U.S. public high schools, were incidents of bullying directed toward students from immigrant families?
What actions did educators across U.S. public high schools take to address the needs of students from immigrant families?
Our responses to these questions emerge from data we collected from U.S. public high school principals in the summer of 2025.
Selected Press
FOX 11 Los Angeles: UCLA study: immigration fears cause "climate of distress" in schools
The Guardian: Immigrant students experience more bullying as ICE raids cause ‘culture of fear’, says survey
Los Angeles Times: High school bullying is up, attendance down as ICE raids sow ‘climate of distress,’ study says