Just days after Montgomery County Public Schools opened its doors for the new academic year, district enrollment figures show fewer newly-enrolled and transferring students overall, a trend some immigrant advocates say is being driven, at least in part, by fear tied to immigration enforcement.
MCPS reported a 41% drop in new student enrollments and transfers compared with previous years.
“We have seen a decline in enrollment in general,” said Liliana López, Public Information Officer for MCPS in a written response to MCM questions. “We track enrollment by newcomers and transfers. We do not track enrollment by immigration status.”
School leaders say low enrollment is due to demographics
Grace Rivera-Oven, president of the Board of Education echoed that explanation, pointing to demographic shifts rather than immigration as the primary driver.
“There are fewer enrollments because there is a smaller population having children,” the board president said. “We had visited schools that used to have four or five kindergarten classrooms, and now they have two.”
Rivera-Oven said the enrollment decline is not concentrated among Hispanic students but is showing up “across the board.”
Latino students make up close to 40% of MCPS’ student population, the largest single demographic group in the district.
Rivera-Oven added that during the first day back to school, she visited schools where 55% to 70% of students are Latino and immigration was not a topic parents raised; questions instead centered on grades, schedules and first-day logistics.
Enrollment materials and other resources, the official added, are available in Spanish, and many principals in the district speak Spanish.
Advocacy groups differ from school leaders
But that account differs from what immigrant advocacy groups say they are hearing directly from families. Shannon Wilk de Benitez, director of education at We are CASA, said members across Montgomery County including students, parents and teachers alike describe rising anxiety since the start of stepped-up federal immigration enforcement.
“Fear is having a very negative impact,” she said. “People feel that if there is a threat related to ICE, then maybe it’s better not to keep going to school.” She said the effect is not limited to whether students formally enroll, it also shows up in day-to-day attendance and academic performance.
Wilk de Benitez said CASA has documented cases nationally, statewide and in Montgomery County of parents or family members being detained near schools, including some detained shortly after dropping off their children. She pointed to an incident near Eastern Middle School last year, which she said damaged trust between families and school leaders after officials told the community “nothing happened.”
We are CASA is pushing MCPS to adopt a formal shelter-in-place protocol, keeping students and staff inside school buildings with doors locked, while continuing normal classes and activities any time immigration enforcement activity is confirmed within roughly 1,000 feet of a school.
“The priority should be moving all the children and staff inside so they don’t confront violence or emotional trauma,” she said. She added that in the days and weeks following an enforcement incident near a school, attendance data shows a noticeable drop.
Federal enforcement operations rise in Maryland
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said enforcement activity on school grounds should be “extremely rare” and would require “secondary supervisor approval,” while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has said it does not target schools for enforcement actions.
This week ICE said in a statement that during its ” Operation Safe Community” they have made more than 1,300 arrests.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore reacted to the news by saying, that even though “safety is his top priority” ICE numbers on detention this month reflect that “a mere fraction 1,300 people they arrested in the past two weeks had ever been convicted of or charged with any crimes.”
MCPS assures student’s safety and privacy
MCPS, in a message sent to families and shared with Montgomery Community Media, said it does not ask about immigration status during enrollment or at any other time, and that student records are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
The district said it has procedures in place if federal immigration enforcement activity occurs near or at a school, prioritizing student safety, legal compliance and clear communication with families.
