Since President Trump’s Inauguration in January 2025, school districts across the United States have reported an increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity surrounding K–12 school campuses. The increase in ICE activity occurred following the federal government’s rollback of the sensitive locations and protected areas policies that were established through Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memos in 2011 and expanded in 2021. Almost immediately after the rescission, educators in California, Texas, Georgia, and Florida reported multiple appearances by ICE officers near school entrances, requests for student or caregiver information, and visible patrols during drop-off and dismissal. These patterns were consistent with national data, which showed an increase in community-level enforcement during the first months of 2025. The American Immigration Council noted that just the presence of immigration agents near schools could lead to students in mixed-status families missing school, disengaging from learning, or experiencing heightened anxiety and trauma (American Immigration Council, 2025).
With the federal protections removed, schools can no longer rely on national guidelines to serve as de facto safe zones. For example, in April 2025, ICE officers attempted to enter two Los Angeles elementary schools, which prompted teachers and administrators to physically intervene and demand judicial warrants (Harvard Immigration Initiative, 2025). As a result of incidents like the Los Angeles elementary schools, sanctuary school policies have become both more essential, as educators are now responsible for constructing local protections in an environment where federal policy no longer provides a floor of safety for undocumented children. For undocumented students, many of whom already live in a state of ongoing vigilance, this surge in enforcement has transformed the schoolhouse into yet another site of possible exposure and threat.
Therefore, sanctuary school policies have emerged as an increasingly important reform intended to preserve undocumented students’ right to learn without the constant threat of detention or family separation. This paper examines how sanctuary policies were designed to support undocumented students, the extent to which they succeeded, the adverse or unintended consequences they produced, and what further supports are needed to make such policies substantively protective rather than primarily symbolic.
Advancing Equity With Policy 