A new survey of US high school principals has revealed that immigrant students are experiencing increased bullying and a 'culture of fear' as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids intensify. The report, from the University of California, Los Angeles’s Institute for Democracy, Education and Access (Idea), found that 70.4% of principals reported students from immigrant families expressing concerns about their well-being.
Attendance has also suffered, with 57.8% of principals noting that immigrant parents or guardians had left the community during the school year. More than a third of principals said students from immigrant families reported being bullied or harassed. One Minnesota principal described white male students asking Hispanic peers, 'Can I see your papers?' while a Nebraska principal noted an increase in hostile language such as 'Go back home'.
The survey, conducted over the summer, polled over 600 principals and found that 63.8% reported students missing school due to immigration policies or political rhetoric. Many schools have taken action: 77.6% created a plan for responding to visits from federal agents, and nearly half prepared for the possibility of a guardian’s deportation.
John Rogers, the study’s lead researcher, said he was struck by the 'normalisation of a system that creates extraordinary trauma'. One principal compared the stress of worrying about ICE to the anxiety of mass shootings. The Department of Homeland Security accused UCLA of 'fear mongering', stating that ICE does not arrest children in schools.
