At both the local and national levels, American immigration enforcement efforts have had significant impacts on students, schools, and their surrounding communities, according to two recently published studies.

In a study led by Stanford University’s Tom Dee, researchers examined county-level partnerships between Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement agencies, and the impacts of those partnerships on schools and students.

Another study, led by UCLA’s Patricia Gandara and Loyola Marymount University’s Jongyeon Ee, examined the perceptions of thousands of educators, counselors and other school staff across to U.S. to determine how immigration enforcement policies had affected their students.

We speak with all three researchers about their research, and what their findings might say about the nation’s current approach to immigration enforcement.

Featured research: Dee, Thomas S., and Mark Murphy. “Vanished Classmates: The Effects of Local Immigration Enforcement on School Enrollment.” American Educational Research Journal, (July 2019). 

Ee, Jongyeon, and Patricia Gándara. “The Impact of Immigration Enforcement on the Nation’s Schools.” American Educational Research Journal, (July 2019)