Ileana Najarro is a reporter for Education Week covering race and opportunity in schools across the country. She previously wrote for the Tampa Bay Times and the Houston Chronicle.
Tracy Byrd helps students with essays on Jan. 22 at Washburn High School in Minneapolis. As immigration raids and protests have played out across the city, he and fellow educators have sought to create a stable environment for students.
A Somali flag, right, flies alongside the United States and Vermont flags outside the Winooski School District building, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Winooski, Vt. The district's effort to show support for Somali students drew intense backlash.
Protestors gather after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis, on Jan. 7, 2026. The incident later prompted the Minneapolis school district to cancel classes amid broader federal immigration operations.
Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune via TNS
Demonstrators hold up signs protesting an immigration bill as it was discussed in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on April 10, 2025. The bill, which legislators paused, would have allowed schools in the state to require undocumented students to pay tuition. It was one of six efforts taken by states in 2025 to limit undocumented students' access to free, public education.
Children disembark from a school bus in a largely Hispanic neighborhood that has been the subject of patrols and detentions by Border Patrol agents, during a federal immigration crackdown in Kenner, La., on Dec. 10, 2025. This year, the EdWeek Research Center included questions related to immigration in national surveys.
Jennifer Hosler, center, a pastor and parent of a child who attends Mundo Verde Public Charter School, leads parents and staff in a chant of solidarity as they keep watch for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in front of the school, amid fears of impending arrests at schools on May 6, 2025. An EdWeek Research Center survey asked whether schools or districts have protocols in place regarding immigration enforcement.
Three sisters, whose single mother fears being mistakenly detained by federal immigration agents because she is of Puerto Rican descent and speaks Spanish, walk into Funston Elementary School after being dropped off for the start of the school day, in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood Oct. 15, 2025. Teachers in Chicago and elsewhere have expressed heightened anxiety from immigrant students as immigration enforcement efforts expand.
Demonstrators picket against ICE outside of Hoover Elementary School in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 19, 2025. Educators who work with immigrant families across the country are reporting increased anxiety and absences among students amid heightened immigration enforcement.
Students in the dual language immersion program at Pueblo Elementary School in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Sept. 16, 2025. A new California poll found high demand for such programs, especially from Latino families.
Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference at FHP Troop D Headquarters in Orlando on Aug. 1, 2025, where he discussed law enforcement and the Florida Highway Patrol’s role in apprehending undocumented immigrants in the state. A new study links increased immigration enforcement in Florida to declines in student test scores.
People rally outside Los Angeles Unified school district headquarters in support of 18-year-old high school senior Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz, in Los Angeles, on Aug. 19, 2025. The rally was planned after Guerrero-Cruz was taken into custody by federal immigration officials in early August. Whether educators choose to advocate in such situations depends on multiple factors, survey data found.
Eric Marquez, a global history teacher at ELLIS Preparatory Academy in New York City, holds a sign dedicated to his student, Dylan Lopez Contreras, who was detained by ICE agents on May 21, 2025, as he poses for a portrait in Marble Hill, N.Y., on Sept. 18, 2025. An analysis of an EdWeek Research Center survey reveals when and why educators would advocate for students detained by ICE.
Sylvelia Pittman stands for a portrait outside of Nash Elementary School in Chicago on Oct. 30, 2025. She spoke with Education Week about the fears she is grappling with regarding immigration raids and federal agents' increased presence near her school.
Pictures show what mouth shape different sounds make on the walls of Diana Oviedo-Holguin’s class at Heritage Elementary School in San Antonio, Texas, on Sept. 3, 2025. Texas officials are getting closer to launching a new bilingual special education certification that will help teachers better understand the intersecting needs of English learners who are also students with disabilities.
Second grade students raise their hands in Dalia Gerardo's classroom at West Elementary, in Russellville, Ala., on Dec. 9, 2022. Gerardo is a bilingual educator. Experts say Hispanic educators with bilingual certification can boost English learners' academic performance.
Des Moines Superintendent Ian Roberts visits the McKee Education Center on the first day of school, Sept. 4, 2025. Roberts resigned from his position as superintendent on Sept. 30 after immigration officers arrested him on Sept. 26.