{"id":1062,"date":"2026-05-26T17:07:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T17:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1062"},"modified":"2026-05-26T17:07:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T17:07:29","slug":"how-wake-says-heightened-ice-operations-lowered-high-school-graduation-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1062","title":{"rendered":"How Wake says heightened ICE operations lowered high school graduation numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

Wake County school leaders are warning that increased federal immigration enforcement has led to a drop in high school graduation numbers this school year.<\/p>\n

Read more Why the James Comey trial over NC seashells photo is now pushed to fall<\/a><\/p>\n

Attendance dropped sharply in North Carolina schools, including in Wake County, when the Trump administration ramped up immigration operations in the state. That impact is being felt now as thousands of Wake County seniors are preparing to graduate in the next few weeks.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still working through those graduation numbers this year, but I absolutely know that that has had an impact,\u201d Wake County Superintendent Robert Taylor told reporters on Thursday. \u201cWhen we look at attendance for those students that have been affected by immigration standards and things that they\u2019ve put in place, it has caused their attendance to dip, and we also saw the graduation rate decline in that area as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, Wake County had an overall 4-year graduation rate of 90.7%. But it was lower for several individual student groups, including 79.5% for Hispanic students and 67.9% for English learners.<\/p>\n

How much those graduation rates may fall will be reported this summer by the state Department of Public Instruction. State Superintendent Mo Green has said DPI may put an asterisk by this year\u2019s state graduation numbers<\/a> if there\u2019s a significant drop.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has increased federal immigration enforcement actions since taking office in January 2025. The nation has seen a drop in foreign-born migration since then.<\/p>\n

Attendance dropped sharply in several North Carolina school districts last fall when federal immigration agents began an operation in Charlotte that moved to the Triangle. At one point, Durham Public Schools saw 30% of students stay home<\/a> during the enforcement surge.<\/p>\n

The attendance drop wasn\u2019t as large in Wake County. But Wake reported a higher than normal absence rate of 11%<\/a> during the enforcement surge.<\/p>\n

The Wake County school system attributes part of its enrollment drop this school year<\/a> to federal immigration policy,<\/p>\n

This school year, Wake County\u2019s English Language Learner population dropped by 3,000 students \u2014 the first significant decline in a decade. The statewide ELL headcount dropped by 15,513 students.<\/p>\n

Read more UNC baseball begins NCAA Tournament at home. Who will the Tar Heels play?<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the things that families would mention all the time was whether it was safe to send their kids to school, according to Emanuel Gomez-Gonzalez of Siembra NC, a statewide organization that supports people targeted by ICE.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe heightened period of activity in November during the Border Patrol operation \u2014 that was incredibly disruptive when students are in this stage of their academic career,\u201d Gomez-Gonzalez said in an interview Friday. \u201cThat type of disruption can be felt through the rest of the year, and it\u2019s not surprising to see it in the results for graduation numbers or enrollment numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n

School districts tried to reassure families that schools would be a safe space for their students. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that public schools can\u2019t deny admission to students based on their immigration status.<\/p>\n

That point was emphasized by Taylor during his remarks at the graduation press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want everybody to understand that any student that is in our community has a right to attend school,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cIt is our responsibility as a school district to give them the full breadth of what we offer in K-12 instruction, and they have that as a right, and we do nothing to police that. So, we hope that that is respected, and our kids are given the opportunity to come to school and freely participate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The efforts to reassure families who may not be in the country legally has drawn complaints from some conservatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cWake County Public Schools in North Carolina just sent a message to parents authorizing illegal aliens\u2019 absences due to ICE activity, and promising that teachers will provide at home lessons for illegal aliens,\u201d Libs of TikTok, a popular far-right social media account, posted in November on X<\/a> during the Border Patrol surge.<\/p>\n

Gomez-Gonzalez said the people cheering the drop in graduation numbers are being supported by a federal government that believes some children don\u2019t deserve an education in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people in our communities are comfortable voicing their rejection of other people who live in our communities,\u201d Gomez-Gonzalez said. \u201cIt is not a normal thing to wish bad on your neighbors. That\u2019s not a normal generally acceptable thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more NCAA announces 2026 tournament field. Did NC State baseball make the cut?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wake County leaders say heightened ICE and Border Patrol operations reduced attendance and led to lower high school graduation rates for some student groups this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Wake says heightened ICE operations lowered high school graduation numbers - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1062\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Wake says heightened ICE operations lowered high school graduation numbers - 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