How Federal Policies Are Undermining Educational Opportunity for Immigrant Students

More than 40 years ago, the Supreme Court held in Plyler v. Doe that no state can constitutionally deny students a free public education based on immigration status. The Court recognized something fundamental:

It is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.

Now, through a series of actions by the U.S. Congress and the Trump administration over the last 6 months—including cuts to education programs, restrictions on health and nutrition services, and massive increases in detention funding—this access to education is being challenged.

While a broad set of students are affected by these actions in distinct ways, many of these policies are directly impacting undocumented students and students with at least one noncitizen parent.

Recent data estimate that there are 620,000 undocumented children, and of those at least 100,000 have pending asylum applications. There are also approximately 4.7 million children who are U.S. citizens but with at least one noncitizen parent (parents who are either undocumented or lawfully present). Almost three quarters of these parents have been in the United States for more than a decade, and many are permanent residents here under either a permanent visa, temporary authorization, or as refugees or asylum seekers.

Federal Policy Actions

A series of recent legislative and administrative actions is fundamentally shifting the federal approach to education, moving away from policies that once protected access for all students. These actions include cuts to health and nutrition services that support learning, restrictions on access to educational programs, and increased immigration enforcement. This environment is generating fear among children and families, causing many students to avoid schools and educational programs entirely.

Shifting Federal Investments From Education to Enforcement

Federal spending priorities have shifted dramatically, with massive funding increases to immigration enforcement paired with significant cuts to education. The passage in early July of H.R. 1 (what is called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) provides the Department of Homeland Security $45 billion—more than quadruple the amount of their previous budget—to detain immigrant adults and families through Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The law explicitly states that these funds can be used for the long-term use of family detention, although this may face legal challenges. H.R.1 also provides approximately $45.5 billion more for enforcement and deportation activities, and to reimburse states and districts for related expenses, including the building of detention centers.

The combined $90 billion to detain and deport immigrants and their families comes at a time when the administration is working to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and significantly reduce federal investments in education. The administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget request to Congress would cut approximately $12.4 billion in education funding—about 15% of the total budget for the U.S. Department of Education.

The administration has also repeatedly disrupted school funding. For nearly a month, it withheld an estimated $6.2 billion in Congressionally appropriated funding for K–12 education while adding new requirements to K–12 formula grant programs that would have limited the access of undocumented students and their families to educational programs and services. Earlier this year, the administration also attempted to prevent school districts across the country from drawing down about $2.5 billion in remaining pandemic education recovery funds still in use by schools (only reversing course after a preliminary injunction was granted to plaintiffs challenging the administration’s actions).

Restricting Access to Federal Health, Nutrition, and Education Programs

H.R.1 also directly restricts access to health and nutrition programs for children with undocumented parents, including children who may themselves be lawful permanent residents. Data consistently show that student access to health services and nutrition programs increases their physical well-being and consequently improves their ability to engage in educational programs and their academic achievement. Despite these benefits, the law includes new limits for legal immigrants’ Medicaid coverage and access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Only green card holders will have access to these programs, excluding immigrant families who are lawfully present as refugees and asylees, among others.

These restrictions have broader consequences. Limiting immigrant families’ access to Medicaid and SNAP prevents many students from accessing school meal programs, since eligibility for school meals is often tied to Medicaid and SNAP eligibility. Additionally, as fewer students qualify as low-income due to reduced Medicaid and SNAP participation, schools serving large numbers of these students could also see reductions in the supplemental state and federal education funding they receive based on the students served.

Federal agencies are also taking steps to limit access to education-related programs and services for undocumented children and children with undocumented parents. Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a notice aiming to limit access to Head Start, mental health and substance use disorder services, programs that support families experiencing homelessness, educational training, and other programs. Separately, the U.S. Department of Education issued a notice seeking to prevent undocumented students from accessing Career and Technical Education programs, which could also impact access to dual enrollment and early college programs provided to high school students, and is already facing a legal challenge.

The Impact of Federal Actions

Even when programs and services are available to undocumented students or students with at least one undocumented parent, some students may be too scared to access these programs. Schools across the country are experiencing a rise in student absenteeism among undocumented students or students in mixed status families. In some school communities, student absenteeism increased by 22% during times when ICE raids were occurring and some educators are reporting losing half of their class. Students report fearing returning home from school to find out that a parent has been detained, or that they themselves may be detained on their way to school or a school event such as a high school graduation. One study also attributes these types of declines in student attendance to parents’ fear of driving their child to school and being detained along the way, older students working to supplement lost family income when parents themselves are too fearful to leave home, and health-related issues.

Evidence has shown the negative impact these kinds of policies have on students, from increased stress and anxiety to declines in enrollment and achievement.

School Systems Are Responding

These compounding federal actions are forcing state and local education leaders to find new ways to ensure all students can access educational services, supports, and opportunities. And as the new school year approaches, an increasing number of school leaders are ramping up efforts to support their students with such strategies as creating safe zones for students and families; training staff and educators on how to support students and stay connected to families; and strengthening partnerships with trusted, community-based organizations to provide services, information, and support. These actions will be more critical than ever as federal policies push students away from the educational opportunities and services they are legally entitled to and need to thrive.

The Supreme Court warned in Plyer about the individual and societal harm of restricting children’s education, noting that:

[p]ublic education has a pivotal role in maintaining the fabric of our society and in sustaining our political and cultural heritage; the deprivation of education takes an inestimable toll on the social, economic, intellectual, and psychological wellbeing of the individual, and poses an obstacle to individual achievement.

By weakening our commitment to educating all children, we will also weaken our country in the long run, catalyzing profound long-term effects on the social, economic, and civic health of our communities and our nation.