Ice fear can enter schools, some students skip class

From Delilah BrumerCalmness

This story was originally published by CalmattersS Register about their ballots.

They speak Farsi, Canton, Spanish and at least two dozen other languages. Some have won master’s degrees in their home countries, while others have never graduated from high school. At California Community Colleges, more than 290,000 students accept free, unconscious English as a second language.

As immigrants, many of these students enroll in the classes to integrate into American Life, progress in their work, support their children or build a community. Classes have grown with popularity in recent years – Enrollment For the State College System in the Community, which is struggling to bounce entirely to the number of students before the papandemia.

But as news of canceling international visas for students and Immigration and Customs Affairs Report reports During the second term of President Donald Trump throughout the country, many colleges in the community have seen that some of these students are moving to online learning or stopping to appear entirely in class.

So far, there is no state data on 2025 enrollment in the non -credit ESL courses in California Community Colleges. But a few anecdotes from professors and enrollment numbers from individual colleges in the community paint a similar picture: the increased fear of ice repels students. In the San Fernando Valley, a professor has lost about 15% of his recording through this semester. In San Marcos, several classrooms have sharply switched from predominantly personal training to walls of scaling squares.

While the semester continues, ESL professors offer “Know Your Rights” cards and inform their classes of the College System in Community bet not to participate In federal efforts to implement immigration. They also continue to associate their students with campus resources such as food closets and teaching centers.

ESL classes have expanded post-canmia

Los Angeles Pierce College began offering ESL, which was not a loan in 2021, and last year the college hired a full -time professor to strengthen the program. Enrollment in the classes jumped from about 50 in 2021 to more than 350 in 2024. Dennis Solarres, Coordinator of Adult Education at Los Angeles Pierce College, said students who wanted to improve their job opportunities have led to the recent growth of ESL recording.

“We offer an opportunity that can help them communicate more, acclimated themselves with the community and get better jobs,” Solaress said.

The classes attract a variety of students. Azena Hernandez, 42, enrolled in ESL at Palomar College in San Marcos, so that she can better support her three children with daily tasks. It started as a one -language spokesman in Spanish, but after a few semesters it can conveniently make conversations in English.

Hernandez now voluntarily in ESL beginner levels as a peer instructor. She said that her most important admission from these courses was “family made at school.”

“We learn something new every day and there is companionship,” Hernandez said. “We are united to study.”

The professor of Hernandez, Sheri Kulie, has taught ESL for over 40 years. It gives priority to civic commitment and real -world training in its hours. A long -term project that its students work on is the maintenance of a community garden and advocates its accessibility and accessibility of local self -government meetings. Sully said he admired the work ethics and resistance of his students.

There were another 30,000 students enrolled in ESL courses who were not loans in the California Community Colleges in the 2012-24 academic year compared to the 2018-19 academic year, according to state data. The growth is conditioned by several factors, including the increased demand for workforce training, as the country’s economy is expanding and the boost of the college system to expand ESL after the pandemic, according to a written statement to Calmatters from the Califormy Community System office.

ESL courses Bring state funding to Colleges in Community Based on partial enrollment so that several colleges work to continue this expansion after Enrollment dropped out During the pandemic. But students are afraid of implementing immigration can thwart these efforts.

Fears of getting into ice into schools

Forecast 100,000 students Live in California with no constant legal status, and 3.3 million Californians live in households with mixed status, according to the Institute for Studying the Studies, the USC Research Group. Some of these students call into question whether a class is worth the risk of entering a public campus where ICE has access, and they have chosen to take courses practically. But not all students have access to a computer or Wi-Fi at home, and some older students may not be comfortable with the technology needed for college courses.

Jessica Buchsbaum, chairman of the ESL Department at City College of San Francisco, runs a program serving about 6,000 students, ranging from teenagers to octogenaries. She said the recording of ESLs, which are not credited, “increases intensively during the autumn semester, but now it softens.”

“We have definitely heard that students may be afraid to come to school,” Buchsbaum said. “In an environment where there is so much hatred aimed at immigrants, we are here to serve this population. These are people who carry incredible energy and hope for our communities.”

In January the Trump Administration dumped policies Applied in 2011, which limits the ability of ice agents to arrest people in churches, schools and other areas designated as “sensitive places”. A statement from the Ministry of Interior Security said that change was necessary, so “criminals will no longer be able to hide in schools and churches in America to avoid arrest.”

Community colleagues in California are public campuses, which means they are limited Through federal laws, try to prevent the entry of ice agents on or near spaces that are usually considered open.

Over the years, the California Community System has supported immigrant students, such as Offering Dream Resources Centers and connecting students with non -profit legal services. The system has directed the college administrators to a 2017 State Law This prohibits the Campus police departments from “usually provide personal information … for an individual for the purpose of implementing immigration, including, but not limited to, an individual’s home address or work address, unless that information is available to the public.”

The Chancellor Office has refused a request for an interview with Calmatters about this story. A written statement in the office said: “The mission of colleges in the California Community in California is to train and provide social and economic mobility to all Californians who want to improve their workplace skills and workplace, as well as to improve their literacy in English.”

ESL professors provide support and students continue to study

Rachel Kerden is a professor of ESL at Los Angeles Pierce College and the daughter of the Philippines immigrants. She said that the years she spent watching her parents struggle to navigate life in the United States, without strong English skills, encouraged her to teach ESL.

For Cerdenio’s intermediate courses, she created a curriculum focused on the relationship with the success of college and students. She recently appointed students to visit the campus resource such as the Student Health Center or Library, ask questions about it and share the information with their classmates.

“I want my parents to have the experiences I give my students now,” Kerden said. “I want them to succeed and I want them to be part of the campus and know about the resources that are here.”

Solares has presented presentations in adult education courses, including Cerdenio hours, on the rights of students immigrants and resources accessible to students, regardless of their immigration status.

“We had a huge influx of students, but with a change in politics, students are naturally scared and therefore there are students who choose not to come for hours,” Solaress said. “The vibration is more navigated. It is scary. But we support students and we equip the teachers to support their students.”

Delilah Brumer is an associate at the College of Journalism Network, a cooperation between Calmatters and student journalists from all over California. Calmatters’ higher education coverage is supported by a grant by the Foundation for Futures of the College.

This article was Originally Published on CalMatters and was reissued under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Noderivatives License.