Donald Trump

Immigration Enforcement Has Students Fearful, Depressed: Survey

The UCLA study says schools are not safe from the fallout generated by the Trump administration's immigration enforcement

Teachers and educators across the country say President Donald Trump’s strict stance on immigration has created palpable fear in the classroom, with students missing classes, letting grades slip and exhibiting emotional and behavioral problems amid fear of losing family to deportation.

The findings were contained in a report released Wednesday by the Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles, which surveyed more than 730 schools in 24 districts in 12 states about the impact of the administration's immigration enforcement measures on teaching and learning.

Researchers found that 64 percent of the 5,400 teachers, administrators and other school personnel who responded said they had observed students who were concerned about immigration issues that may affect them, their families or people they know.

“We have one student who had attempted to slit her wrists because her family has been separated and she wants to be with her mother,” one Maryland teacher told researchers, who promised anonymity to respondents. “She literally didn’t want to live without her mother.”

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