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FAQs on Displaced Immigrant Families and Education
Strategies for Supporting Immigrant and Migrant Students Experiencing Homelessness
Immigrant Students Experiencing Homelessness: Liaisons’ Strategies
Immigrant Students: How Schools Can Help
A Message on ICE Presence in Schools
Other National Resources
Prek-12
Resources to Support Immigrant and Migrant Students Experiencing Homelessness
Welcome to SchoolHouse Connection’s Immigration and Homelessness Resource Page.
Many students and families arrive in the U.S. from other countries without safe, stable housing, and experience homelessness and high mobility that can last for months. At SchoolHouse Connection, we recognize the crucial role that schools can play in providing stability and support to mitigate the disruption and trauma caused by homelessness. This page is dedicated to providing liaisons, educators, policymakers, and advocates with valuable resources on how to best support these families and youth, and help ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed in school and beyond.
Strategies for Supporting Immigrant and Migrant Students Experiencing Homelessness
With an increase in students arriving to the U.S. from other countries, many local educational agency (LEA) homeless liaisons have questions about eligibility for services under the McKinney-Vento Act, as well as strategies for best serving these students.
This resource provides an overview of the rights of immigrant, migrant, and undocumented children and youth; strategies and best practices for supporting immigrant and migrant children, youth, and families; and ideas for using American Rescue Plan-Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) funds to serve these populations.
A note on terminology: “Immigrant” and “Migrant”
The media often refers to displaced immigrant families as “migrant” families. However:
- “Migrant” means someone who moves because the student or family are involved in temporary, seasonal agricultural or fishing work.
- “Immigrant” means a person who moves to a country and plans to stay permanently. In this document, SHC will refer to families from Arizona, Florida, and Texas as immigrants.
Immigrant Students Experiencing Homelessness: Liaisons’ Strategies
An increasing number of families and youth are arriving in the U.S. from other countries, many without stable housing. This resource provides strategies and ideas from four local educational agencies (LEAs) across the country on supporting immigrant, migrant, and undocumented children and youth experiencing homelessness.
Immigrant Students: How Schools Can Help
Federal rules on immigrant youth and families are changing rapidly, from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Recently, schools are welcoming more immigrant families from all over the world due to violence and natural disasters. This brief provides basic information about eligibility for education services for different immigrant populations, and practical suggestions for schools.
A Message on ICE Presence in Schools and Protecting Children and Youth
The Trump Administration now allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in schools, shelters, and early childhood programs – places previously considered “sensitive locations.” Karen Rice, Senior Program Manager of Education Initiatives at SchoolHouse Connection, shares vital guidance.
Resources: Know Your Rights App, Printable Know Your Rights Red Cards (multiple languages), Family Preparedness Plan: Immigrant Legal Resource Center
“The Trump Administration rescinded guidance that Immigration Enforcement actions could not take place in “sensitive locations” such as hospitals, schools, early childhood centers, disaster relief sites, and other places like that.
Enforcement action can now happen anywhere.
Right now the law says that any student can access a free, K-12 public education. This change doesn’t take that away.
Students have the right to enroll. They have the right to be in school. Regardless of their immigration status, regardless of their parent or caregiver’s immigration status.
We can’t collect any of that information. We can’t ask for that information. McKinney-Vento is still true for all of our students that meet that definition and lack fixed regular and adequate nighttime residence.
For families who have mixed statuses, students can come to school and they may not know when they go home at the end of the day if a parent or a caregiver is going to be there. A child gets on the bus and that may be the last time they see that parent again.
There’s a lot of fear in that public school setting. Is someone from ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, going to show up at school? Going to pull them from classes? What happens to their parent or caregiver who comes at the end of the day to pick them up, but they’re not at school anymore?
It’s really important for these reasons that schools have a plan and know what they’re going to do and include the Homeless Liaison in those conversations. If ICE shows up at our schools and says, “Hey, we need a list of all of your students,” make sure that we’re not violating federal FERPA law, that protects student data.
Make sure that the ways that we’re talking about McKinney-Vento helps families and helps youth to understand no information is being handed over to the federal government with name and identifying information.
Immigrant families still have rights. One of the resources that we shared is the Know Your Rights app. And the other is listed as red cards that talk about what rights are. Here’s what to do, and here’s what you can say.
but here’s what you don’t have to say. We need to be sharing those resources with families so that they know what to do in the event that ICE shows up at their school or their home.
Families don’t have to open the door unless there’s a specific kind of warrant that requires that. You don’t have to answer all of the questions, you don’t have to open the door, you can ask for that paperwork, you can ask to see a copy of the warrant, you can ask for the name of the person.
Community partners are absolutely critical during this time. We absolutely do not want to give legal advice at schools. Find those reputable community organizations that you can send families and youth and individuals to so that they can gain access to that information.
We need to be talking to families about having a plan. Who is going to be a caregiver for that child? Where is the child going to go after school?Where are the important documents? For families with mixed statuses, where might that child’s birth certificate or passport be?
Schools need to be sitting down right now and coming up with what’s step one? What are we going to do? Who is the point of contact?
Is it the building principal? Is it the district administrator? Who does ICE need to go through to have access to this particular student or this particular group of students?
How are we going to ask for the information that we can require of them before just opening the doors? How are we going to protect our students? Liaisons should have a seat at that table as school districts are planning and preparing.
Students who may come to school, go home to have a parent or a caregiver that’s no longer there. That student may then become an unaccompanied homeless youth, and we need to be aware and mindful of the situations that our students are in so that if that student comes back to school without a parent or a guardian, we can be providing those services.”
FAQs on Displaced Immigrant Families and Education
In recent months, thousands of immigrant families have been relocated by the governors of Arizona, Florida, and Texas to states and communities across the country. These families typically arrive without safe, stable housing, and experience homelessness and high mobility that can last for months. SchoolHouse Connection condemns this politically calculated displacement and the upheaval and harm it causes. At the same time, we know that school can be a place of stability and services to help mitigate the disruption and trauma caused by homelessness. We’ve received numerous questions about the educational rights and protections of children and youth in immigrant families.
Here are our answers to some of these questions:
Does immigration status affect McKinney-Vento eligibility?
It depends. Children arriving from other countries with or without their parents are eligible for McKinney-Vento services, if they are experiencing homelessness. The McKinney-Vento Act’s education definition of homelessness includes children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. It specifically covers children and youth living in motels, shelters, transitional housing, cars, campgrounds, and sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reasons.
The McKinney-Vento Act provides a means to determine children and youth’s eligibility: all local educational agencies are required to designate a McKinney-Vento liaison responsible for identifying children and youth who meet the definition of homelessness. While this is a case-by-case determination, it is typical that students and families who have fled violence or natural disasters experience homelessness upon arrival to the United States. They may stay with family or acquaintances at first, but those living situations often collapse over time. Even families who receive resettlement services upon arrival cannot sustain housing when that support ends in a few weeks or months.
Tip: Make sure education and McKinney-Vento information is widely available in multiple languages and specifically in locations where immigrant families are likely to see it. For example, the Washington McKinney-Vento State Coordinator’s office has posters available to download in eight languages.
What if vital documents (like birth certificates, immunization records, etc.) were collected by Customs and Border Patrol and not returned to the family?
SHC recommends reaching out to the student’s previous school, even if that school is in another country. It is possible the previous school will have copies of the vital records. Connect families with trusted and reputable legal resources in the community who can provide guidance on obtaining vital documents. Homeless liaisons also can support families in obtaining immunizations from local medical providers.
If families are placed in motels or shelters are they eligible for McKinney-Vento?
Yes. The McKinney-Vento Act includes within its definition of homelessness the following living situations:
- Sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason
- Staying in motels, hotels, trailer parks, campgrounds due to a lack of adequate alternative accommodations
- Staying in emergency or transitional shelters
- Staying in a public or private place not designed for ordinary use as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings
- Staying in cars, parks, bus or train stations, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, or similar settings
- Unaccompanied youth (youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian) staying in the above circumstances
Due to the number of newly-arriving immigrant families, there’s an increase in young immigrant children identified as McKinney-Vento. These students are prioritized on a district-administered preschool waitlist. If a new classroom is created, it will be almost entirely McKinney-Vento immigrant children. Is this a violation of McKinney-Vento because these children will be segregated in one classroom?
The key with this question is that the children would not be in the classroom based on their homelessness or immigration status. The new class is taking the children in order from the waitlist, and they’ve been prioritized based on their homelessness. At some point children lower on the waitlist, who are not experiencing homelessness, could end up in the class, so the class will not consist only of immigrant children experiencing homelessness.
Are immigrant students, and particularly undocumented students, eligible to participate in school activities?
Yes, immigrant students, including undocumented students, have the right to participate fully in academic and extracurricular activities, like any student. However, certain activities can create unique challenges for undocumented students, including career and technical education programs that require work authorization, driver’s education classes in states that require immigration documentation for driver’s licenses, and field trips out of the country.
Tip: Many students first learn they lack legal immigration status when it creates a barrier for them participating in a school activity. If immigrant students suddenly drop out of a class or field trip without a clear explanation, make information about immigration relief available to them in a discrete and non-confrontational way.
Does the right to public education for immigrant children include early care and education programs?
In some cases. The right to public education for immigrant children, including undocumented children, extends to preschool programs run by school districts, charter schools, and/or state agencies. In addition, families may enroll in Head Start and Early Head Start programs regardless of their immigration status. Federal child care subsidies are limited to certain “qualified immigrants.” However, only the immigration status of the child is relevant; programs cannot ask for parental immigration information or deny services to a child because a parent is undocumented. In addition, child care programs that are Head Start collaborations, or subject to public educational standards, are exempt from the “qualified immigrant” limitations.
Tip: Streamline the enrollment process for immigrant families by using simple terms to describe eligibility and providing information in multiple languages. Increase outreach to immigrant children who may be experiencing homelessness, and provide them with the priority enrollment required for children experiencing homelessness under Head Start and Child Care regulations.
Do immigrant students and undocumented students have access to higher education?
Depending upon the specific state, yes.
- Seventeen states and the District of Columbia offer in-state tuition for undocumented immigrant students through legislative action for students who meet certain criteria*: CA, CO, CT, FL, IL, KS, MD, MN, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OR, TX, UT, VA, and WA.
* These states typically require that undocumented students have attended and graduated from state high schools, are accepted at a state college or university, and agree to apply for legal status when eligible.
- Seven state university systems have established policies to offer in-state tuition to undocumented immigrant students. In addition, several states such as CT, MD, NJ, OR, and WA have laws that allow certain immigrant students to receive financial aid, such as students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status.
- Eleven states offer state financial aid for certain undocumented immigrant students, including DACA students: CA, CT, HI, MD, MN, NJ, NM, NY, OR, TX, and WA.
- Six states bar undocumented immigrant students from receiving in-state tuition benefits: AL, AZ, GA, IN, MO, and SC.
Source: https://www.ncsl.org/immigration/tuition-benefits-for-immigrants
Tip: Students who are documented but whose parents are undocumented can apply for federal and state financial aid. If their parents do not have legal Social Security numbers, they should enter all zeros for their parents’ Social Security numbers (or leave parent information blank if they are unaccompanied homeless youth).
Other National & Related Resources
- Sesame Street In Communities: Supporting Families Resettling in the U.S.
- Colorín Colorado: Guides and Toolkits
- National Immigration Law Center: Basic Facts about In-State Tuition for Undocumented Immigrants
- UnidosUS
- Migration Policy Institute
- League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
- Immigrant Connections
- Welcoming America
- International Mayan League
- DACA Students and Resources for Superintendents and Schools
- Immigrant and Refugee Children: A Guide for Educators and School Support Staff
- Success in Early Learning Programs and Elementary School for Immigrant Families
- Six Things Undocumented Students Need to Know About College
- National directory of free or low-cost immigration legal services providers
- Resources to prepare for raids and other immigration enforcement actions