With ICE looming, a Charlotte ESL teacher tries to help her immigrant students

How do you teach students who are scared their parents won’t be home when they get off the bus? How do you prepare students for a future that they don’t know if they’ll even have?

Teachers across North Carolina have increasingly found themselves asking these questions in 2025. The Trump administration has drastically increased immigration enforcement, making broad and indiscriminate arrests of those suspected of being in the country illegally, regardless of whether they have a criminal record.

According to U.S. Census data analyzed by the Pew Research Center, 11% of K-12 students in North Carolina have at least one undocumented parent. A much smaller percentage of students are undocumented themselves. For one English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the past 10 months has meant taking on new roles for those students. She’s not just a teacher anymore — she’s a psychologist, a social worker and confidante for students living in fear.

The teacher, who is Latina herself and requested anonymity out of fear for her own safety, has been teaching ESL students at CMS for more than a decade. Never has she seen them so fearful about what might happen and their families.

“It’s very stressful, and I do worry about them and their family,” she said. “Now when they’re absent, I worry if they’re just absent, or were they deported already?”

The teacher said that her high school students are old enough to be aware of what’s going on, and they come to her seeking reassurance. It’s also a topic they discuss among themselves, finding comfort in their peers with similar experiences.

“They’re afraid that ICE is going to come get them, and they will be sent back to their countries where there’s no future for them,” she said. “A lot of them don’t want to leave their homes because they’re afraid that when they get back, their parents won’t be there.”

A new state law banning cell phone use during instructional time has compounded those fears, the teacher said. Students worry that if a family member is detained, their parents will contact them while at school, but without access to their phone, they’ll miss the call.

There’s reason for concern. A recent analysis from The Charlotte Observer found that arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in North Carolina are 2.6 times higher than they were at the same time last year. In Mecklenburg County, that increase is even steeper, with ICE arresting about three times the number of people.

Some of those arrests have occurred publicly, increasing fear within the community. Earlier this year, the Trump administration declared schools are no longer safe zones from immigration enforcement. While ICE agents are not allowed in school classrooms, they are permitted in public areas of a school, such as school parking lots, school lobbies and waiting areas, and they must have a warrant. In May, ICE detained a parent near the drop-off line of a Charlotte magnet school. That’s something no parent or student should ever have to experience.

The teacher said that the biggest challenge for her has been a lack of guidance about what exactly she can and can’t say to students who come to her seeking advice or comfort.

“I don’t know what information you know I should give out, other than just reassure them, you know, that they’re OK,” she said. “And I can’t even say they will be OK, because I don’t know, but they’re OK for now.”

That lack of guidance isn’t necessarily the district’s fault, she said. As a public school system that gets its funding from the government, CMS has to be careful with what it says and does to remain in compliance with the Trump administration’s policies. But she wishes she knew whether she can let them know what their rights are, and what to do if they or a family member is detained by ICE.

The uptick in immigration enforcement has ultimately made it more difficult for teachers to teach and students to learn. Data has shown that, across the country, spikes in ICE activity have coincided with spikes in absences, as students stay home out of fear of deportation and family separation. Studies show that even just the threat of family separation can have a profoundly negative effect on mental health. Kids aren’t just worried about their studies anymore — they’re worried about their safety outside of school, and they’re afraid to even show up. Under those conditions, how are they supposed to succeed?

For the teacher and her students, it’s already hit home — one of her students had a relative taken by ICE on their way to work earlier this year.

“I feel bad for them, I really do. I can’t even imagine what it’s like coming to school, you know, not knowing if they’re going to get your parents, and then you go back and what do you do?” she said. “What do you do?”

Paige Masten is a deputy opinion editor for the Charlotte Observer and McClatchy’s North Carolina Opinion team.

This story was originally published November 2, 2025 at 6:00 AM.