New data shows steep drops in newcomer student enrollment across Los Angeles and the nation as immigration crackdowns fuel fear, instability, and disrupted learning.
Los Angeles Unified lost about 7,000 more students than projected this year.
Newcomer student enrollment has seen steep drops.
Across the nation, immigration raids and border restrictions have led to a drop in K-12 enrollment that appears to number in at least tens of thousands, affecting Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami and elsewhere, based on figures provided by school district officials. The drop also reflects the lack of non-U.S.-born students, or “newcomers,” entering the nation’s public school systems.
For students who had already been attending U.S. schools, the decline is an indicator of disrupted learning — and, in some school districts, financial shortfalls.
“These declines reflect a climate of fear and instability created by ongoing immigration crackdowns, which disrupt family stability, housing and mobility,” said L.A. schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho. “When families are afraid to be seen, or when they cannot afford to remain in their communities, they are less likely to enroll, reenroll, or stay in public schools.”
Neither the U.S. Department of Education nor the Department of Homeland Security — which are charged with enforcing Trump administration education and immigration policy — responded immediately to a request for comment.
How Los Angeles Unified is affected
In the L.A. Unified School District, enrollment overall is down just over 4% compared to last year. This is about 2% more than a projection based on factors other than immigration enforcement.
Carvalho said fears in immigrant communities “are now exacerbating preexisting factors that were already driving statewide enrollment declines — including falling birth rates, rising housing costs and broader economic pressures.”
In a school system with nearly 400,000 students, the difference this year between the anticipated decline and the actual decline is more than 7,000 students.
An indicator that speaks to the effect of immigration enforcement is the number of “newcomer” students.
Newcomers are defined as non-U.S.-born students enrolled for three or fewer years in any U.S. school. This is an educational category, not an indication of whether a student resides legally in the country. California schools do not collect information about legal status — and a 1982 Supreme Court decision protects the right of immigrant children to receive a public education.
In 2023-24, L.A. Unified had 21,997 newcomers by the end of the school year, accounting for 5.2% of students. The end-of-year total for last year was 19,110 students — 4.7% of total enrollment and a decrease of 2,887 from the previous year.
At that point, President Trump had been in office for about six months — with a surge in immigration raids in Los Angeles spiking in June.
The enrollment trend continued this fall, with recent data showing an additional decline of 1,768 newcomers, bringing their enrollment to 17,342 and reducing newcomers to 4.4% of total enrollment.
“While newcomers have historically been a vibrant and growing part of our school communities, their enrollment has declined significantly over the past three years, with year-over-year decreases that mirror the uncertainty many families are living through,” Carvalho said.
(with iformation of the LA Times)
Fear in the Classroom: LA Immigration Raids Keep Latino Students Home
