‘A canary in a coal mine’? How Trump’s targeting of immigrants is hitting Fresno Unified schools

Jose Sandoval, a history teacher at Fresno High School, says immigration enforcement has led once-engaged students to withdraw — glued to their phones, letting grades slip, and missing class. Among his five sophomore and junior classes of more than two dozen students, 8-10 have been directly affected.  

Sandoval said one teacher in the social science department was pulled into the hallway by a student who said it was their last day because their father had been deported. Others have sent messages saying they can’t return because their parents are too afraid to leave the house. 

“It’s just heartbreaking because these kids were doing well,” said Sandoval. “They were some of the most polite, brightest kids and all of a sudden, their lives got turned upside down. Attendance rates are down and this feeling of fear going around for too many of our students has become very real.”

A new Stanford-led study has found that student absences in the Central Valley surged in several school districts following the Kern County Border Patrol raid in January and the repercussions following — a pattern researchers warn could foreshadow longer-term educational and demographic consequences.

The study, released in June, found a 22% increase in absences after immigration enforcement actions in January and February, based on daily attendance data across three school years from five districts in the central San Joaquin Valley.

While the five districts are unnamed in the published paper, lead author and Stanford education Professor Thomas Dee confirmed to Fresnoland that the study focused on Bakersfield City School District, Southern Kern Unified, Tehachapi Unified, Kerman Unified, and Fresno Unified, some of the districts that were the closest to the raids.

Dee said those five were the only ones to respond to his team’s data request, part of a collaboration with Stanford’s Big Local News, a journalism lab that helps secure and process public records. One additional district in Riverside County also shared data, which served as a geographic control — and did not show any attendance changes.

‘Attendance data is a canary in a coal mine’ 

What the team found, Dee said, was stark: The spikes in absences were consistent across all grade levels, but most acute among the youngest students — particularly those in preschool and kindergarten.

“There are two broad reasons for this,” Dee explained. “One is that younger kids are more likely to have an undocumented parent or household member. But also, when it comes to family separation, the concern is particularly acute when children are very young. Parents are simply more protective at that age.”

School attendance is a crucial factor for student learning, especially right now, when districts are already struggling post-pandemic, Dee said. 

“More broadly, attendance data are like a canary in a coal mine,” said Dee. “They signal how immigration enforcement may be affecting communities: parents pulling children from school, families leaving entirely, and local economies beginning to feel those shifts.”

In Fresno Unified alone, which serves around 69,000 students, Dee said the attendance shock could have large-scale learning consequences, as immigration raids have been linked to long-term harm in learning and social-emotional development. Even students not directly affected can experience increased anxiety, while teachers face classroom disruptions and added emotional strain.

In an email statement to Fresnoland, AJ Kato, Fresno Unified communications general manager, said that this year, the district’s chronic absenteeism “didn’t see a dramatic increase; however, we also did not achieve the gains we had hoped to.”

Kato added that FUSD expects the rate to remain roughly the same as last year, or possibly, slightly lower. 

In an interview with Fresno Unified Superintendent Misty Her, she explained that since the pandemic, the district has seen a decrease in enrollment and average daily attendance, with ramped up immigration enforcement only elevating the problem.

“[Absenteeism is] definitely a problem and we’ve been dealing with it ever since the pandemic, and it’s been elevated [by] all of the immigration issues that have been happening,” Her said.

Though the extent to which immigration enforcement has contributed to declining enrollment is currently not known, Her says it is one of multiple factors contributing to rising absenteeism in the district.

“We’re, on average, losing anywhere from 900 to 1,000 students, which equates to lots of money for our district [and] not only is our enrollment down, but our average daily attendance is down too,” Her explained.

In the 2023-2024 school year, the district saw a total enrollment of 76,011. By 2024-2025, that number decreased to 71,151, and according to a statement by district representative Diana Diaz, that number further dropped to 69,374 by June of this year. 

In California, Dee said, where school funding is partially based on average daily attendance, the stakes are also financial. Reductions in attendance means less funding for districts.

Absenteeism costs Fresno Unified $30 million annually and every percentage point of change affects the district’s funding by $10 million, according to a news release earlier this month.

Kato wrote in a statement to Fresnoland that the attendance challenges faced by Fresno Unified are similar to those in many other large districts, including poverty, housing instability, transportation issues, and community safety concerns. 

To address these issues, Kato said strong community and family engagement can help, as students are more likely to feel supported to attend regularly.

To tackle this, Her said the district is taking a strong stand to protect students and families, saying that Fresno schools will not give ICE any information. The district will also continue to educate students and families alike with resources like red cards, which explain a person’s rights when dealing with immigration enforcement.

“I think that taking that stand is critical, but also, the people who are going to have the biggest impact is our staff at the school sites, because they know the kids individually,” Her said. “It’s that trust that is built and that relationship that is built that tells a family ‘your child is going to be safe when they come and we will take care of them.’”

How Fresno Unified is responding to student absences

Some districts, Dee said, are exploring options to help students stay on track academically, including virtual learning for those too afraid to attend school in person. 

Andy Levine, Fresno Unified Trustee representing the Fresno High area, said the district came up with some virtual learning options in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the Farber Educational Campus, and are following similar flexible options now. 

Levine said teachers and staff are feeling the strain of student absences, though the district hasn’t seen disruptions rise to the level of entire classrooms being systematically affected. 

“Teachers no longer have the luxury of being just a ‘teacher,’” said Levine. “They’re also an adult ally, an advocate, a support system, someone who’s there for a student that may be really going through a very difficult moment, and having to wear a lot of different hats.”

In response, Levine said FUSD has increased investments in “whole child” supports, particularly in mental health services, which were accelerated during the pandemic but have continued in response to rising immigration enforcement. 

Levine said students are increasingly seeking out counselors to talk about fears tied directly to immigration, either their own or that of family members.

The district, Levine said, has also prioritized ‘Know Your Rights’ education and translated resources for families, while reinforcing to parents about policies that immigration enforcement cannot enter campuses without a judicial warrant. 

How teachers and staff are supporting students

Sandoval said many teachers have come together to print ‘Know Your Rights’ cards, listen to students’ concerns, anxiety and fear, and do everything within their legal parameters to provide safe spaces for students. 

He’s noticed that students are too afraid to talk openly about immigration enforcement and other issues, and most conversations happen briefly, either before the bell rings or in quick moments throughout the day. 

Although Fresno High offers social emotional services, Sandoval said, many students keep their struggles to themselves and are more likely to open up to adults they know and trust, such as teachers, rather than unfamiliar adults, such as mental health counselors.

“As a classroom teacher, I have the unfortunate task of navigating this world of uncertainty and fear alongside my students trying to help them make sense of it all while managing my own concerns and responsibilities,” said Sandoval. “It’s a constant balancing act, supporting their emotional well-being, answering difficult questions with honesty and care, and maintaining some sense of normalcy in a time that feels anything but normal.”

Sandoval said he feels angry and helpless as the situation unfolds. He and other teachers are offering flexible options, such as allowing students to complete assignments at home, submit work online, or receive extended deadlines, to help reduce stress and prevent poor grades from appearing on transcripts. 

When students are too afraid to attend school or are kept home by their families, Sandoval said they fall behind academically, missing key foundational skills, such as writing and research, that are essential for success in future grades. 

“Students tend to trust their teachers much more than somebody else, and they’ll pull us to the side and break our hearts, but we’re there for them,” said Sandoval. “The narrative that just criminals are being taken, that’s a flat out lie, and as a classroom teacher, I can tell you, and many other teachers can tell you that it’s innocent children that are being affected, and their lives are being destroyed based on a lie.”

Veronica Zamudio, a community schools coordinator at Gaston Middle School, said that at the start of the semester, many students came to her office asking her to talk to their parents out of fear of attending school and to share resources from the district about immigration policies. 

“A lot of our students were afraid of coming back home and not finding their parents or any of their family members,” said Zamudio. “Some even received texts from their parents to not come home because it wasn’t safe.” 

In January, the school hosted an immigration event open to all, where families could speak to lawyers, get contact information for organizations, ask questions, and receive support for pending cases. 

The following month, the school held two optional, day-long ‘Know Your Rights’ workshops for families and distributed red cards. Zamudio said more than 150 students attended and 80% expressed a need for additional support. 

The principal at Gaston, said Zamudio, runs a meeting called “Voices of the Community,” and during one session, he spoke openly about immigration with families. 

One of the main concerns raised was the need for mental health support, not just for students, but also for their parents, and other family members. 

Zamudio said support groups for families is the school’s primary goal for the rest of the year, along with strengthening existing resources. 

“Parents need to know that the school is still a safe place for them, not only for the students, but for their families,” said Zamudio. “And I’m talking about myself. I’m preparing myself to go to training, getting them informed so I can provide the right information at the appropriate time to our families.”