A study circulated by researchers at Brown University revealed that, following a spate of immigration raids and arrests that began with Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, absences among foreign-born students in one northeastern school district rose by almost 40 percent. Notably, the trend took the form of a lasting negative impact in day-to-day attendance rather than a temporary drop in the wake of particular enforcement actions.
Andrew Camp, a research associate at Brown’s Annenberg Institute and the paper’s lead author, said he was surprised to discover that the consequences of political change were so durable, extending through the end of the 2024–25 academic year. The lingering increase in absenteeism would likely require more work from educators and administrators to draw children back to schools, he added.