Child protection in America

Olivia Olaes

Anchor Staff Writer

Elementary school: the time where laughter fills the corners of classrooms, bright colors decorate every wall and the echoes of young children running to recess fill the hallways. But what if I told you those corners are where small bodies hide when the echoes turn into gunshots? The bright colors are covered by approaching shadows, the ones with “ICE” written on the back. Recess would be a miracle if they got to that point in their day without being taken away, ending their young lives in various tragic ways. 

The recent inauguration of President Donald J. Trump has fear rising across America. In New England, all blue states, anxiety is prominent as this nation’s empathy appears to be inconspicuous. 

President Trump and his administration have given their own green card to permit United States Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers to enter schools, searching for illegal children to deport them. The Trump administration has focused on immigration enforcement, while measures to ban military-style assault rifles and other guns still remain debated. 

Sensitive areas such as churches, schools, after-school programs, playgrounds and daycare centers were previously protected in the recent past, but under the Trump administration, that protection has now been overturned. 

This raises important questions and concerns for migrant students in America. School officials are undergoing proper training if facing an United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid. Teachers encourage parents to send their children with proper documentation and prepare “red cards” outlining constitutional rights.

If ICE requests to speak with a student, school administrators and parents are contacted immediately. However, could this be a manipulation to deport a greater number of immigrants since parents and guardians are likely not to allow their children to be taken away without them? As we know, Trump proudly shared that he plans to implement the largest immigration deportation this country has ever seen.

Photo by Mark Makela on Getty Images

One single day after the protection of schools was lifted, the Secret Service arrived at Hamline Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois. It sparked rumors that ICE agents were turned away by the school’s administrators. However, the Chicago Public School District released a statement clarifying that it was the secret service investigating matters regarding the TikTok ban and not ICE.

In necessary worry, we must explore what this means for children’s education in the upcoming future. Will parents begin to keep their children at home, having to choose between sacrificing their education versus their life? It is clear that the risk of harm to children is increasing as time goes on. Nearly 500  U.S. school shootings have been reported in 2024 and now the plan to infringe deportation on innocent children and youth within their own school walls, what does this mean for child development? If we look in terms of Trump’s most valued assets, how would this impact the next generation’s impact on national socioeconomic status?

Similarly to mass incarceration and racial bias in prominently colored neighborhoods, why must our country plan for the size of prisons, crime rate and predicted unemployment by the rates of our children’s decline versus implementing plans to utilize a child’s strengths to avoid those very things. If our nation could prioritize hands-on socioemotional development on children, including migrant children, to give them the chance of a better future, it could almost be ensured they would be a functioning member of society. 

That being said, most immigrants in America are non-violent, non-criminals that are genuinely here for a better life. Some may argue that our country can not afford to support immigration. However, the use of funds regarding militarism versus observing those who are poverty stricken, struggling or asylum seeking refugees looking to contribute to a society where they do not have to be in war-zones, violent crime areas or torturous oppression for being a woman. We must represent empathy in our nation.