ICE agents outside local school campuses raise concerns

By Alexander J. Schorr

February 25, 2026 (San Diego) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity has increased in surrounding school areas, which includes the occupying of parking lots,  monitoring of bus routes, and arrests occurring blocks away from schools.

At least 3,800 children have been booked into ICE detention between January 2025 and early 2026. Families have expressed anxiety over “haunting and taunting” by federal agents who patrol or park near schools near school zones during drop-off and pick up times for their children.

As of February 9, 2026, ICE has arrested roughly 393,000 individuals since January 21, 2025. Locally, being the San Diego and Imperial counties, immigration arrests surged by 1,500% between late 2025 and early 2026.

A Fact Check

Some Republican representatives such as Lakeside school board member Andrew Hayes claim that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not conducting raids at schools, implying that “scaremongering” is what is keeping students out of schools.

 Is he correct?

Not exactly, as ICE has gone out of its way to make arrests in the areas surrounding school campuses.

Local officials describe the intensified immigration sweeps in the Twin Cities as a “siege,” with school superintendents reporting that agents are "circling" schools and targeting families during the school run.

Much of the controversy of late concerning ICE has been mainly focused at Minnesota, where a litany of examples of ICE are taking and separating children and students from their families just outside the sanctuary of schools.

Just recently, Liam Conejo Ramos (5 years old) was detained on January 20, 2026 while returning from preschool with his father. Photos of the child flanked by agents went viral, and following a judge’s order, he and his father were released from a Texas detention center on February 1.

Two siblings (a 2nd and a 5th grade) were taken by ICE on January 29, 2026 after their mother was detained at a court appointment, with school staff escorting the boys to a federal building at her request. They were released on February 4 after being flown to a Texas facility as well.

At least six children from the same district were detained within a two-week period. This included a 10-year-old fourth grader and a 17-year-old student who were removed from their car by armed agents.

Policy Changes

The new directive, "Enforcement Actions in or Near Protected Areas,” revoked the 2021 guidance that limited immigration enforcement actions in these locations to the “fullest extent possible.” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that the change ensures that “criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.” Additionally, an interim ICE memorandum requires agents to obtain secondary supervisor approval before taking action in locations like schools.

Based on recent reports, thousands of children are being kept home from school due to fear of ICE raids. In one such instance, over 27,000 students were absent in the North Carolina Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district following a November 2025 ICE presence.

Approximately 9 million school-aged children (one in six nationwide) live in households with at least one noncitizen adult, making them potentially susceptible to these fears. In a survey of educators working with immigrant families, 24% reported reduced student attendance and 15% reported declines in overall enrollment due to enforcement fears.

Additionally, two-thirds of United States high school principals reported that immigration enforcement caused students to miss school in 2025. In some cases, absenteeism has tripled, with schools experiencing sharp drops in attendance, such as falling from 95-96% to 85%.

Reports from early 2025 indicated that because of ICE presence on or near campuses, there are potentially 50% absence rates in Arizona schools, while Minnesota educators reported widespread anxiety among immigrant and refugee students. In Minnesota, educators are suing ICE over their activity and their presence on school grounds and nearby schools.

Children are staying home out of fear that they or their parents will be detained, with some reports noting that children are taking precautions like carrying passport cards.

Incidents that have occurred nationally include but are not limited to:

Chicago: NPR reported that following fear of raids, attendance citywide dropped between 50% and 80%.

California (Central Valley): A Stanford study showed a 22% increase in daily absences during ICE operations in five agricultural school districts. The impact was highest among pre-kindergarten students, where abscess rose by an estimated 35%.

Charlotte, North Carolina: The school district reported more than 27,000 students (nearly one-fifth of the district) were absent the first day after Border Patrol agents arrived, which tripled the typical rate.

Rochester, Minnesota: The superintendent reported a 417% increase in excused absences among students whose first language is not English, as well as a 376% increase among Latino students during peak enforcement periods.

Portland, Maine: Attendance rates dropped from 89% to 84% within a few days of increased ICE presence.

Teachers and volunteers have launched “community patrols” to watch for undercover ICE vehicles near schools, offering safer passage for families, and includes organizations like Unión del Barrio and the Association of Raza Educators.

The fear has resulted in not just temporary absences, but in prolonged and continuous absences for some students, with some of these students even attending one or two days a week. These absences are occurring within a broader context of increased immigration enforcement actions in 2025. Part of this concern is rooted in the fact that the Trump administration has removed schools as protected zones for immigration enforcement.

Despite the policy change, certain legal protections for students remain:

• Right to Education: The 1982 Supreme Court ruling in Plyler v. Doe still prohibits states from denying children a free public education based on immigration status.
• Search and Seizure: Under the Fourth Amendment, ICE agents generally still need a judicial warrant or explicit permission to enter private school areas (such as classrooms or offices) that are not normally open to the public.
• Privacy Rights: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) continues to restrict schools from sharing student records with law enforcement without a judicial order or parental consent.

The San Diego County Area

Between 2025 and early 2026, immigration arrests in the San Diego area have ultimately surged by 1500%, with enforcement actions reported in neighborhoods, and workplaces.

Locally, federal immigration agents have conducted increased enforcement operations near schools and in surrounding neighborhoods in San Diego County during 2025 and 2026, causing concerns for families. Incidents have included arrests near campuses in Encinitas, National City, and Chula Vista, and has prompted community, teacher, and district-led safety patrols and protective resolutions.

This shift in arrests in school areas has extended from an incident during August of 2025, where ICE agents arrested a father near an elementary school in the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD)— followed by an arrest near  South Bay High School, contributing to a “string of immigration enforcements" near schools. SDUSD has reinforced further protections of students through the passing of a resolution at the end of last year, which states that its campuses are safe spaces, and that ICE agents may not enter without a valid warrant, though it does not extend to activity on the streets.

Schools have emphasized that even when arrests happen just outside school grounds, they still impact student and family safety, with districts like San Diego and Encinitas responding with increased outreach and support.

Despite ICE maintaining that it does not conduct enforcement on school grounds, reports indicate arrests, including but not limited to a March 2025 roundup in El Cajon, which occurred near campus locations. Multiple arrests of parents have occurred in school parking lots and nearby bus stops in the greater San Diego area, including at Linda Vista Elementary and Herbert Ibarra Elementary.

If you are concerned about potential ICE enforcement:

• Know Your Rights: Use resources like the ACLU’s “Know Your Rights” guide for interacting with immigration agents
• School Protocols: Most San Diego County school districts, including San Diego Unified, have policies requiring ICE agents to present a judicial warrant signed by a judge before being allowed onto campuses.
• Legal Support Organizations such as the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium provide emergency resources and legal aid for families affected by enforcement actions.