Teachers Warn Immigration Enforcement Near School Bus Routes Fuels Fear and Absences

(UNITED STATES) — Teachers and school administrators across the United States have reported immigration enforcement activity near campuses, bus stops and along school bus routes that they say has driven student absences, fueled anxiety and disrupted classroom routines.

Educators described students staying home after rumors of nearby arrests, shifting to remote instruction, or disappearing from class after detentions in their communities, tying those changes to the Trump administration’s broader posture on immigration enforcement near places once treated as off-limits.

An Associated Press report published March 6, 2026, said teachers and school staff from 18 states submitted testimony in a lawsuit challenging the administration’s decision to allow immigration enforcement in places that had long been treated as protected spaces, including schools, houses of worship, and medical facilities.

Those accounts include immigration raids near campuses, arrests at bus stops, and parents keeping children home out of fear, AP reported, as educators warned the resulting instability is changing how students learn and how teachers do their jobs.

The policy dispute centers on the administration’s rollback of long-standing federal guidance that for decades discouraged immigration arrests in “sensitive” or protected locations. AP reported the administration rescinded that approach shortly after President Donald Trump returned to office and issued a shorter directive that gave officers broader discretion near schools and similar spaces.

School leaders and teachers said the shift matters less for what it calls schools than for how it changes day-to-day behavior around them, with families responding to the risk of encountering agents during drop-off, pickup or the walk to a bus stop.

In testimony cited by AP, one educator said half of the students at a school stayed home after rumors spread about immigration enforcement nearby. Another teacher said a student was detained at a bus stop and never returned to class.

A high school teacher reported that some immigrant students shifted to virtual learning after a parent was arrested near a bus stop, AP reported, even though the available virtual option was only in English, raising concerns those students would fall behind.

Minnesota has emerged as a focal point in court filings and news reports describing the practical effects of immigration enforcement near schools. The Washington Post reported that school districts and a teachers union sued the Department of Homeland Security in February, arguing immigration officers carried out enforcement actions at or near schools and bus stops during the administration’s “Operation Metro Surge.”

The lawsuit says those actions interfered with the basic functioning of schools and caused direct harm to students and educators, the Washington Post reported, describing allegations that teachers, parents and students were detained near school grounds and that school vans were pulled over.

Fridley Public Schools saw attendance drop by nearly one-third during the operation, the Washington Post reported, and district officials said the trust families place in schools had been badly damaged.

Saint Paul Public Schools saw similar spikes in absenteeism after the detention of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos from Columbia Heights Public Schools, according to the reporting cited in the material.

Court filings and related accounts also described children getting caught in enforcement activity linked to the Minnesota surge. Four children were detained in Minnesota operations, the reporting said.

Educators described how quickly fear spreads through school communities even when enforcement happens off campus, with parents trading warnings in group chats and students arriving distracted, exhausted, or not at all.

Some districts responded by tracking attendance more closely or expanding remote options, while acknowledging that virtual instruction can create new barriers for students who need language support or rely on school-based services.

Beyond Minnesota, AP reported the 18-state testimony described a growing pattern of immigration enforcement activity near schools, including accounts of arrests near campuses and at bus stops, and widespread fear among students and parents.

A UCLA survey found over two-thirds of U.S. high school principals reported enforcement-related effects in the 2025-2026 school year, including students missing school to care for detained relatives or because family members feared leaving home.

Regional snapshots cited in the material included Southern California and a large Florida county, where school outcomes such as test score declines were linked to enforcement surges.

Educators and administrators said the consequences are not limited to students in deportation proceedings, describing classroom-wide effects when a few students vanish, a bus stop goes quiet, or families stop attending conferences and school events.

Districts have also moved to formalize what staff should do if agents appear at a school, emphasizing the difference between warrants that allow entry and documents that do not.

Saint Paul Public Schools, under Superintendent Stacie L. Stanley, adopted resolutions distinguishing judicial warrants, which are required for school entry, from administrative ones. The district also banned staff interviews of students without warrants and mandated annual training.

In Oregon, Beaverton School District Superintendent Gustavo Balderas described the situation as “very extreme” and “traumatic” compared with Trump’s first term.

Private schools have also prepared for the possibility of immigration enforcement activity nearby, with reported measures focused on verifying credentials and warrants, designating a single point of contact, limiting access to private areas and consulting immigration attorneys.

Some private school planning has also addressed protest-related absences and policies that prohibit staff coercion, reflecting concern that immigration enforcement and public demonstrations can each disrupt attendance.

The legal fight has broadened beyond any one district, with plaintiffs seeking court orders that would restore stronger limits on immigration enforcement in and around locations such as schools while lawsuits proceed.

The Associated Press report said the multi-state challenge to the rollback includes testimony from 18 states, framing the policy as a change that affects not only immigration enforcement but also school operations and student welfare.

The Minnesota lawsuit brought by school districts and a teachers’ union tied its claims to activity during “Operation Metro Surge,” arguing that enforcement near schools and bus stops caused harm that schools could not readily undo.

Federal judges have issued temporary restraining orders in related cases, including court action involving SEVIS terminations for international students, according to the material.

Administration officials have defended the enforcement posture and argued the approach promotes public safety, while also saying schools are not routine targets.

A DHS spokesperson said, “ICE is not going to schools to arrest children—we are protecting children. Criminals are no longer able to hide in America’s schools.”

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, “The Trump Administration is creating safer communities. by removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens.”

Teachers and school leaders said those assurances do not match what families perceive when arrests happen near campus boundaries, at bus stops, or on the streets students travel each morning, and they argued that the location and timing of enforcement actions can matter as much as the stated target.

AP also reported concerns from agents about rising arrests of non-criminals and U.S. citizens, despite official messaging that prioritizes criminals.

In Minnesota, the White House ended the regional surge after two citizen deaths, the reporting said, but educators described the fear effects as lingering even after specific operations wind down.

Reports of enforcement activity have continued in multiple states, including Minnesota and Maine, according to the material, while schools have maintained heightened preparedness even without confirmed entries onto private school grounds.

District leaders said they expect court timelines and district policy rollouts to shape what the next school months look like, with staff training, communications to families and attendance monitoring becoming a larger part of daily administration.

Even where enforcement does not occur on campus, teachers described the atmosphere as altered by the possibility of it, with students scanning for unfamiliar cars near pickup lines, parents avoiding bus stops, and classrooms absorbing the stress of immigration enforcement as an ever-present topic.

Balderas, describing the moment compared with Trump’s first term, called it “very extreme” and “traumatic.”