A Hidden Crisis

Thousands of immigrant children in government custody are being denied something we expect for every other child in America: a real education. Hidden away in government shelters, these children aren’t getting the education they need.

I have seen this myself, through the eyes of a first-grader who started his journey in America at a federal shelter facility. I was paired with him through the Child Advocate Program at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. This child came to the shelter in July 2024; by November, he was completely shut down and appeared depressed. But once he was placed with a long-term foster family and could go to school, he became the playful, bouncy, energetic student I know today. There’s no way that would have happened if he had been forced to stay in a shelter, like too many of his peers have to. I’m grateful for the Young Center’s work, which gives children like him — and so many others dealing with both immigration and school systems at once — a real chance at stability and happiness.

Kids who come here without their parents, or who get separated from their families, are placed with the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The system was designed to protect immigrant children who arrive without their parents. After being placed in ORR custody, staff start looking for a child’s relatives who might take them in. Through the end of 2024, children spent about one month in custody on average. But the Trump administration has changed the mission of this office, making it almost impossible for children to be released to their families. In July, ORR’s own data showed children are spending almost six months in custody, separated from families and community. As the days add up, with no plan for release in sight, children are suffering with anxiety, hopelessness, self-harm and increased pressure to return to their home countries, even when it’s not safe.

They are also falling behind in school. While in ORR custody, children get the bare minimum. Old worksheets that repeat every few weeks. Hours in front of a computer for an education administered online with minimal guidance. No school credits. No requirement to follow state and local education standards. No way to graduate. When they are finally released to family members, they arrive at public schools behind in their learning.

We would never accept this for our own children. We would be outraged if a school district offered no credits, no progress and no accountability. Yet our lawmakers allow this to happen to some of our most vulnerable students simply because they are immigrant children in government custody.

More than an immigration issue, this is an education crisis, and it is happening on our watch.

These children now spend months, and possibly years, in government custody while their cases go through immigration courts. During this important time, they are cut off from their peers, families and communities that can support them. This is especially harmful for teenagers with college dreams who, through no fault of their own, are losing important preparation time and falling behind their peers in advanced classes and standardized test prep. Meanwhile, younger children who need basic skills get the same generic materials no matter their academic level or learning needs. They cannot participate in school sports, debate teams or plays. They miss everything that makes school more than just academics — and we all lose the contributions these future doctors, teachers, engineers and business owners could make to our communities.

Beyond the human cost, the economic implications of this educational neglect are staggering. Public schools spend roughly $98 per day to provide comprehensive education. Meanwhile, holding a child in ORR shelter care costs taxpayers $248 per day while delivering utterly inadequate education.

All children deserve an education and should be able to reach their academic goals in local schools while living at home with their families. In the case of my first-grader, I cannot imagine if he had to stay in a shelter situation for the past 13 months.

The need for change is clear, but it requires courage from all of us to demand action:

• Call your legislator and tell them you are deeply concerned about children’s long stays in government custody, currently over 180 days on average. Ask them to demand answers from the administration about when these children will be released and how it will reduce harm to children in their care.
• Congress must hold the administration accountable to children’s right to family unity. The bipartisan Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act requires the government to place children with family without unnecessary delay — not hold them indefinitely.
• Call your legislators and ask them to support bills like the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act to keep immigration enforcement away from schools, churches and hospitals. Some states and cities are also acting to protect students and families. Is your state or city one of them?

Where the federal government won’t act, states, cities and communities must lead in protecting children and making it clear that students’ public school access can’t be limited based on skin color or birthplace. Without these much-needed changes, America will continue abandoning its basic duty to children: making sure every child can reach their potential.

The time for excuses is over. We must act now to protect every child’s education from becoming collateral damage in our broken immigration system.

The author is an ESL teacher and an AFT member in Michigan who volunteers with the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, an organization that protects and advances the rights and best interests of immigrant children and advocates for an immigration system that treats children as children first.

Republished with permission from AFT Voices.