Greater Good · 8 days ago

How Ice Raids Are Affecting Children—And What…

When more than 50 students disappeared from a Minnesota elementary school during winter break-afraid to leave their homes as federal immigration agents conducted raids near schools and bus stops-Principal Libby Huettl organized volunteers to walk children to safety, one by one. Her work reflects what educators across the country are quietly doing as immigration enforcement reshapes daily school life: not just teaching lessons, but rebuilding the basic sense that it's safe to come to school at all. The crisis reveals how quickly fear can dismantle what schools work years to build-trust, belonging, the simple freedom to learn-and how much now depends on adults willing to say, as one therapist explains, "Officers are here to arrest certain people, but they aren't always being careful, and some people are scared that they might get hurt." Research shows that witnessing threats, even secondhand, activates our most primal responses-the racing heart, the urge to flee-and for children, prolonged exposure can reshape how their brains and bodies handle stress for life. What schools are learning is both practical and profound: that in extraordinary times, children don't need extraordinary interventions, but the ordinary gifts schools have always offered-play, creativity, connection, and adults who keep showing up.