SAN JOSE, Calif. — It’s nearly 8 AM as parents drop their children off at José Hernández Alpha School, named after the first Latino astronaut. In a school with a majority Latino population, the buzz of activity is a familiar sight, and the walls are filled with children’s art and contest submissions for “Winter around the world.”

For parents, there are workshops to support healthy digital habits, a parent group, Padres Unidos to “support our school’s growth,” and a Cafecito or coffee chat that the principal holds with families. 

Yet beneath the daily hum and bustle at this urban school in East San Jose is a community ready to respond. 

Enrollment declines

Soon after Trump assumed the presidency in January 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rolled back protections for “sensitive areas,” allowing federal immigration agents to target sites once considered off limits. These include places of worship, courthouses and schools.

Subsequent high profile and highly militarized raids in communities across the country have fueled a wave of fear in immigrant communities, prompting a retreat from public spaces.

In Los Angeles, which saw large-scale immigration enforcement operations starting in June of last year, families too afraid to leave home began to rely on volunteer organizations for food delivery services. Los Angeles Unified School District, meanwhile, saw a sharp drop in newcomer enrollment, a decline experts tied to stepped up ICE operations.

Officials with Alpha Schools acknowledged a dip in attendance last year following high profile raids in Los Angeles, the Central Valley and along California’s Central Coast. Parents in this mostly Latino community, however, say they are working to stay engaged with their kids’ educational needs even as they navigate this new and highly fraught landscape.

Studies have consistently shown that parent engagement in their children’s education is a primary factor in student success.

Rising uncertainty

Veronica Carillo is the mother of three children, all of whom attend two Alpha Public Schools, a charter school network of four schools across San Jose. “You do feel the uncertainty of what is going to happen. You are at work… and you don’t know what to expect when you come to pick up your children or when you leave them.”

Carillo says that one of her children is in a class with students who are predominantly from Central America. Their parents have been too afraid to come pick up their kids, she said. “I also have neighbors who don’t go out for the same reason,” she adds.

Bianni Pacheco, who came from Mexico two years earlier, says it is important for children to be aware of the issues, but without raising alarms when information is spread too hastily.

“It worries me, sometimes, to see families who suddenly hear something or information that is sometimes exaggerated,” she said. “There are families in my son’s school who, when they heard that [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] was here, they didn’t attend school, and it was worrying, because in the end it wasn’t information that was verified.”

Stepped up enforcement

San Jose and neighboring cities in the Bay Area have been spared the large-scale enforcement operations in places like Los Angeles, Chicago and now Minneapolis. But targeted arrests, including one at a well-known community center for day laborers in September, has left residents shaken.

San Jose is set to host the Super Bowl on February 8. Statements from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem suggest the city and neighboring communities will see stepped up enforcement up to and during the event.

“Keeping calm is the most important thing,” said Nelly Gutierrez, a parent and community engagement coordinator with Alpha Schools. The school network has partnered with SIREN, a community-based non-profit that has helped lead a series of Know Your Rights workshops for families.

For Soledad Rodriguez, parent of a high school student at Alpha’s Blanca Alvarado School, such workshops have been critical. “Resources are my best friend,” said Rodriguez. “Especially with my family, I am always talking to them about programs where they can get more information, educate themselves, be together in the community.”

Still, Gutierrez acknowledges it is difficult to anticipate what lies ahead.

Congress approved $75 billion more for ICE on top of the $10 billion base funding when it passed President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill last summer. With more than 12,000 new agents and expanding detention facilities, ICE is expected to continue to expand operations nationwide, targeting largely Democratic-led cities and states.

‘Living our normal lives’

Public opinion, meanwhile, appears to be turning against the agency. In a New York Times/Sienna poll 63% of registered voters said ICE tactics have gone too far. The poll was conducted after the fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis of Renee Nicole Good on Jan 7. Two weeks later, on Jan 25 immigration agents shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a VA hospital nurse.

“Things are very worrying, what’s happening in other states,” said Rodriguez. “I personally have seen families that have been affected,” she added, describing how her relatives—who are U.S. citizens—now carry their passports when they leave home for fear of being stopped by immigration agents. “That affected me a great deal.”

For her part, Carillo says she and her partner have made preparations to ensure their three children will be safe in case they are detained. “We all have to have a plan B for tomorrow,” she said. “If something happens to us, we already know who our children are going to stay with and what our children can do.”

Back at José Hernández, as parent Maria Vargas sees her two children off, she voices a common sentiment among many parents in this community. “We need to continue attending our meetings, our community events, our school events,” she said, “and living our normal lives.”

Interviews for this story were conducted by Celina Rodriguez.