On a recent summer night, a 9-year-old girl in Northwest Washington, D.C. was having trouble sleeping. She heard on the news that speaking Spanish could draw the attention of federal agents, and she worried aloud to her Hispanic father that immigration officers might come for her classmates’ parents. “She kept asking, ‘Can they come to people’s homes? Can they come to our home?’” her father said. “She was terrified.”
Their family, longtime residents of the city and American citizens, are not at risk of deportation. But the girl’s anxiety reflects a broader unease rippling through D.C. families as the city’s public schools prepare to start a new school year on Monday, Aug. 25, under the shadow of President Donald Trump’s takeover of the city’s police force and a ramp up in federal immigration enforcement.
Across the nation’s capital, parents are setting up group chats on WhatsApp and Signal to coordinate carpools and walking groups. Some are pressing the city to relax attendance requirements, out of concern that some families might feel they have to keep their kids at home. “We’ve got people volunteering to carpool other people’s kids to school because the parents are afraid to try to get their kid to school on their own,” says Catherine Morgan, a D.C. resident whose child starts third grade on Monday.
Since announcing in August that he would place the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and deploy National Guard troops to patrol the streets, Trump has insisted his measures are necessary to curb what he has described as “roving mobs of wild youth” and “bloodthirsty criminals,” despite statistics showing violent crime in the city had hit a 30-year low earlier this year. His administration has also rolled back protections that once limited immigration enforcement around schools, allowing agents to conduct raids in neighborhoods and workplaces.
The result, according to parents, educators and community leaders, is a climate of fear and confusion at the very moment when families are usually focused on first-day jitters, backpacks, and back-to-school clothes. Parents across the city interviewed for this story described adjusting their routines to shield their children from encounters with federal law enforcement whose mandate remains unclear.
Marta Urquilla, a D.C. resident and mother of two teenagers, says she will not let her kids ride public buses to school. “At this point, that’s off the table,” she says. “My kids present as Black, and that’s just not something I am inclined to expose them to.” She says families in her neighborhood near Howard University have organized walking groups to the grocery store and that similar plans would be in place for school commutes.
The federal occupation, Urquilla adds, has not been evenly felt across the city. “The closer you get to where immigrants live, to where Black folks live and work, the more you see it,” she says.
Rumors of ICE enforcement actions have swirled since Trump’s inauguration in January, but have intensified over the past two weeks as ICE, FBI, Border Patrol, National Guard troops, and more have descended on D.C. streets. Videos have circulated of federal agents and local police arresting individuals in handcuffs and stopping others at various checkpoints.
Across the country, school districts have been taking precautions to shield children from immigration enforcement. In New York, officials unanimously passed a resolution this year that prohibits ICE agents from entering schools or accessing student records without a judicial warrant. In Los Angeles, school leaders announced new “safe zones” in areas targeted by ICE to protect students before and after school.
D.C. parents, however, remain uncertain how much protection their schools can offer, given the city’s lack of statehood and Trump’s direct authority over its institutions.
At a virtual information session for parents on Wednesday night, D.C. Public Schools officials attempted to address concerns about the increased law enforcement presence in the city, noting that they expect very little impact to schools. “Any law enforcement action on school grounds can only take place with a valid warrant or court order,” said Dr. Lewis D. Ferebee, the chancellor for District of Columbia Public Schools. He stressed that school resource officers are not performing any duties related to immigration or custom enforcement.
DCPS also shared a few “best practices” for parents to share with students, including to always travel in a group or with trusted adults, and to avoid distractions while traveling, such as being on a phone or using headphones. “Please advise our young people to stay aware of their surroundings,” Ferebee said at the information session. D.C. police are currently enforcing a citywide juvenile curfew that begins at 11 p.m. for people under 17. In some targeted neighborhoods, juvenile curfews begin as early as 8 p.m.
But some parents remain frustrated by the lack of communication from their schools about what many view as an unprecedented moment. “We haven’t been told a goddamn thing,” says Morgan when asked what her daughter’s school in D.C. had communicated about the coming week. “It makes us feel like, what are you going to do? Are you just going to let them come in and take these kids?”
Jenn Kauffman is a mother of two who sits on the city’s advisory neighborhood commission representing her neighborhood in Brightwood Park. She says parents are demanding stronger assurances from school leaders. “I want bare minimum for the schools to kind of stand up and say what they will do to protect students,” she said. “But in this climate, and you know, D.C. being a federal jurisdiction, I’m also afraid that still won’t be enough.”
Her 7-year-old, who attends a bilingual school, has already been discussing the situation with classmates. “The kids have been talking about this and aware about this,” she says. “But I think it’s risen to a new level.”
Parents say their children are absorbing the stress—and so are they. Lara Fife, whose 4-year-old started pre-K this month, says he has asked her why police are detaining people. “I’ve been extremely stressed and not sleeping well at all,” she says.
The White House insists the deployments are making Washington, D.C. safer, but most residents don’t see it that way. A Washington Post-Schar School poll published Wednesday found roughly 80% of D.C. residents opposed Trump’s executive order to federalize the city’s police department, and 65% do not think Trump’s actions will make the city safer.
Residents warn that the show of force may deepen mistrust and drive children away from school. In Los Angeles, officials recently reported a 7% rise in online academy enrollment, attributing the spike in part to immigration fears. D.C. parents worry they may soon face the same difficult choice. “Are we at a point where we need a virtual schooling option?” Kauffman asks. “Because what’s going to happen then is families are going to have to choose between risking their child, or being referred to Child Protective Services for truancy. And that’s just immoral.”
For now, families are bracing for Monday. Some will walk in groups. Others will drive in carpools. Still others may keep their children home. But the sense of unease remains.
The Hispanic father with the worried 9-year-old daughter says his family plans to arrive at school extra early on Monday so he can warn other families if they notice ICE or other federal law enforcement in the area. “I’m not hearing from any person of color or minorities that they feel safer or that they think that the police presence is here to quote, unquote, restore safety or security, right? It’s quite the opposite,” he says.
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