(NASHVILLE) Federal immigration enforcement activity under President Trump has rippled through Nashville classrooms, with educators reporting higher student absenteeism, sudden enrollment drops, and a rise in fear among families who worry that routine school runs could turn into encounters with immigration agents.
Teachers and principals say they’ve spent recent weeks calling missing students, checking on parents, and changing how they communicate with families, as reports of ICE operations spread by word of mouth and social media. The shift, they say, has made basic attendance work feel like crisis response.
How the changes show up in schools
Several Nashville teachers said the hardest part is seeing children carry adult worries into school. Some students arrive quiet and tense; others stop coming without warning. Administrators described front offices fielding calls from parents asking:
- whether police or ICE agents can enter a campus,
- whether staff can be forced to share family information, and
- how to keep children safe at dismissal.
In response, schools have reminded employees to:
- follow district rules for visitors,
- send students only to approved adults on pickup lists, and
- route law enforcement requests through central offices.
Educators emphasized these steps are meant to calm families, not to confront federal agents.
Local patterns mirror national trends
The local reports mirror patterns documented in other parts of the country after stepped-up ICE actions. In California, schools saw a 22% rise in student absences after heightened immigration enforcement, with elementary grades hit the most, according to the National Education Association (NEA).
Nashville educators say the same dynamic plays out when parents fear traffic stops or workplace raids: a child’s math test becomes less urgent than staying out of sight. Some families keep children home for days, then return apologizing and asking for make-up work. Teachers said they try to avoid punishment for missed days when the absence is tied to safety fears.
Union responses and the lawsuit
Becky Pringle, president of the NEA, said the union has heard from educators nationwide who feel their schools are being pulled into immigration enforcement politics.
“By targeting schools, Donald Trump’s ICE is creating fear and chaos, and our students, their families and communities are paying the price for these traumatic and extreme immigration actions,” Pringle said.
“We have a professional and moral responsibility to keep our students safe. We will continue to show up for our students and their families, and we will stand up at our schools and communities when they are under attack.”
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), tied those fears to a federal lawsuit seeking to restore long-standing limits on immigration enforcement at schools and similar sites.
“America’s classrooms must be safe and welcoming places of learning and discovery, not fear and terror,” Weingarten said.
“We are joining this lawsuit to ensure every child, parent, teacher, and administrator can travel to school each day without the constant threat of masked immigration agents storming their campus.”
The case, PCUN v. Noem, names Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and challenges the administration’s rollback of guidance that had treated schools as protected locations.
Examples cited in the complaint and local impact
Union leaders and lawyers point to episodes that, they say, show why families no longer trust that school grounds will be left alone. The complaint cites an impacted preschool where ICE detained a student’s father during drop-off over the summer, an event that staff members said spread fear quickly through parents and neighbors.
Nashville educators describe similar ripple effects after raids in the area:
- parents cancel parent-teacher meetings,
- stop answering unknown phone numbers,
- ask friends to pick up children instead, and
- staff keep a closer eye on who is waiting outside at dismissal because “people don’t know who to trust anymore.”
A principal who asked not to be named described that change in trust and routine.
Legal context and “sensitive locations” guidance
Tess Hellgren, director of legal advocacy at Innovation Law Lab, said the suit argues that the Trump administration erased more than 30 years of “safe spaces” guidance that had generally barred ICE from schools, places of learning, healing, and worship except in rare cases.
For immigrant families, Hellgren said, the change is not abstract; it affects daily decisions about whether it is safer to keep a child home. The lawsuit’s backers say they are trying to rebuild a clear rule that teachers can explain to parents in plain language. Without it, Hellgren said, “fear fills the gap,” and rumors move faster than any official statement.
ICE has long described schools as “sensitive locations,” though the limits and exceptions have shifted across administrations and court fights. The agency’s public materials on the topic are posted in its online guidance on ICE sensitive locations, which lays out when enforcement actions should be avoided and what approvals may be required.
Educators in Nashville said families rarely read those documents; most rely on what they hear from relatives, churches, and neighborhood group chats. That is why, teachers said, even one enforcement story near a campus can lead to empty desks the next morning.
School responses and supports
According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, school districts in several states have been forced to balance strict attendance rules with the reality that immigration raids can keep children at home, even when students are U.S.-born citizens.
Nashville teachers said they are adding more “warm handoff” practices and other supports:
- walking younger students to counselors,
- connecting families with local legal aid when parents ask for help after an ICE stop, and
- avoiding punitive measures for absences tied to safety fears.
A veteran teacher summarized the stakes: “If a kid doesn’t feel safe, they can’t learn.”
Secondary harms and funding concerns
School officials also worry about quieter, longer-term effects:
- students missing health screenings,
- missed special education meetings, and
- loss of free breakfast that may be a child’s first meal of the day.
When attendance drops, state funding formulas can take a hit, administrators said, which can shrink staff and programs in neighborhoods already under stress.
Current focus and what families ask
For now, Nashville teachers say their focus is keeping doors open and routines steady while watching the courthouse fight in PCUN v. Noem for any order that brings clearer limits on immigration enforcement near schools. Parents keep asking one thing:
- Will school stay safe today?
In Nashville, stepped-up ICE activity has increased student absenteeism and enrollment drops, prompting schools to change outreach and safety routines. Educators report heightened fear among families and rely on protocols, legal referrals, and emotional supports. National unions joined a lawsuit, PCUN v. Noem, arguing the administration erased decades of guidance shielding schools. Districts worry about missed services and funding losses while awaiting potential court orders to restore clearer protections for campuses.
