SLO County schools brace for immigration changes under Trump. ‘Fear and anxiety’
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How will a second Trump term impact SLO County?
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Editor’s note: This is the ninth in a series of stories in the lead-up to and following President Donald Trump’s inauguration aimed at exploring how a second Trump administration could impact SLO County, with coverage spanning key policy areas such as immigration, tariffs, education and more.
President Donald Trump has promised mass deportations in his second term — and school districts across San Luis Obispo County are bracing for impact.
Public schools have historically been sanctuaries from immigration enforcement, CalMatters reported in January.
A 1982 Supreme Court case ruled that all children have a right to a free public education, regardless of their immigration status, according to the outlet. Schools also can’t ask about a student or family’s immigration status and can’t charge tuition to kids who may not be legal residents.
Further federal policy from 2011 dissuaded Immigration and Customs Enforcement from making arrests at “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals and churches, except in specific circumstances involving matters of national security or if there is an imminent risk of death or a danger to public safety, CalMatters wrote.
But the Department of Homeland Security scrapped that policy on Jan. 21, according to an NBC report.
And the impacts of that decision are likely to reverberate through local communities, as immigrant families are torn between the education and safety of their children.
While California lawmakers are working to further shield schools from immigration agents, local districts are already feeling the affects of Trump’s second term.
Impacts of immigration threats and crackdowns on schools
An active community member who is involved in the San Luis Coastal Unified School District and has lived in the county for over 20 years agreed to speak with The Tribune about current environment on the condition of anonymity.
Through a translator, the woman told The Tribune that families were incredibly fearful leading up to and during Trump’s first term, starting in 2017. Some stopped sending their children to school altogether.
At that time, the district assured parents that they wouldn’t allow immigration agents to interfere in local schools, and she felt like officials followed up on that promise.
The district helped calm the community’s fears, she said.
But now, those fears are returning.
Especially after hearing the news of immigration raids in the Central Valley, people are concerned that ICE will show up at schools and workplaces locally, the woman told The Tribune.
She knows of families who are, once again, choosing not to send their kids to school because of those fears.
The anxiety in local communities will impact the attendance, education and mental health of local students, she said. And ultimately, education affects the equality of all people.
We’re all human and we all deserve the opportunity to be educated, she said.
A 2018 Stanford study found that strict immigration enforcement does have significant negative impacts on Latino students — both documented and undocumented — decreasing enrollment numbers and lowering academic performance.
What are schools doing to prepare?
Pacheco Elementary School principal Marcelo Huizar worked in migrant education in Kings and Tulare counties during Trump’s first presidency.
“There was a lot of anxiety,” he said.
This time, Huizar worked with his district, local officials and organizations to inform and educate families about their rights and what to expect.
“Our goal is really for our students to continue attending school,” Huizar told The Tribune. “The last thing we want to see is for students to stay home because of fears of deportation by the parents. We want to assure them that the school is a safe place.”
With that goal in mind, Huizar and his community partners hosted a community immigration forum at Pacheco on Jan. 16. Pacheco is a dual immersion school in San Luis Obispo and has a high percentage of native Spanish-speakers and students from Spanish-speaking countries.
The forum drew a crowd of over 100 people.
It welcomed lawyers, representatives from local organizations and representatives from the offices of U.S. Congressman Salud Carbajal and state Assemblymember Dawn Addis to speak about immigration and legal rights. Deputy Chief Brian Amoroso with the San Luis Obispo Police Department and Cmdr. Sandra Arauza with the Sheriff’s Office also presented.
The overwhelming message: Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
“Let’s say one or both parents get deported. It’s a good idea to have a plan as to where that child would go,” Huizar told The Tribune. “And I know we’re talking worst-case scenario, but I think that’s just the right thing to do for families if they’re in that situation.”
Like Pacheco, the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District also hosted community events to inform families.
District Superintendent Jennifer Loftus told The Tribune that her district is prepared for what may lie ahead. It recently updated its policies and regulations, and the district is refreshing staff on the protocol to follow if ICE shows up at a school campus.
“In the event something like that would happen, they don’t just get to come onto our school and do whatever they want,” Loftus said, adding that any immigration agent would have to have a federally issued judicial warrant before entering campus.
“Short of that, they’re not coming onto our school grounds to get information or access to children,” she said.
If ICE were to show up at a school asking for a specific child, the child’s parents or emergency contact would be notified immediately, along with the superintendent and district’s legal counsel.
She emphasized the importance of ensuring that families’ contact information is up to date, and that parents have an emergency contact for the worst-case scenario.
“In the event something would happen to a parent while the child is at school and the parent isn’t able to get their child .... who is that emergency contact?” Loftus said.
The right to a public education
Local educators want to remind parents that every child has a right to a public education, regardless of their immigration status.
Schools should not ask about a student or family’s immigration status, and student records are confidential.
“What we really want is for our parents to trust that school is a safe place and send kids to school,” Loftus said. “It’s the best place for them to be. What they know is routine and it helps them to have that continued, just a sense of normalcy in their life.”
Huizar said parents should remember that schools are not interested in students’ immigration status.
“We educate students, and that’s our job, and that’s what we’ll continue to do,” he said.
Regardless of immigration status, families also have the right to:
- Access legal counsel
- Apply for and secure housing
- Access emergency medical care
Under California law, state and local law enforcement cannot ask about immigration status, share personal information or assist ICE with immigration enforcement, except in very specific circumstances.
More information about immigrants’ rights can be found at oag.ca.gov/immigrant/resources.
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: The original version of this story was missing the source for some background information on immigrants’ access to public schools. That information came from CalMatters.
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