Teachers in Chicago and elsewhere have expressed heightened anxiety from immigrant students as immigration enforcement efforts expand. One of the challenges the survey addressed was federal immigration enforcement. There, principals shared that attendance declines tied to immigration enforcement began as early as President Donald Trump’s inauguration last year, when families were unsure of what was to come. The rally was planned after Guerrero-Cruz was taken into custody by federal immigration officials in early August. While principals serving immigrant families have always had to navigate immigration enforcement to some extent, the current surge of enforcement operations has created confusion and panic among families that didn’t exist under prior presidential administrations, Mufleh said.