{"id":160281,"date":"2026-02-02T13:55:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T13:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/160281\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T13:55:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T13:55:06","slug":"with-immigration-crackdown-ca-child-care-hard-to-find","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/160281\/","title":{"rendered":"With immigration crackdown, CA child care hard to find"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Carolyn Jones<\/a>, CalMatters<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\""An\"
\n\t\t\t\tAn empty classroom for pre-K and kindergarten students in Burnt Ranch on Dec. 13, 2019. Photo by Dave Woody for CalMatters<\/p>\n

This story was originally published by CalMatters<\/a>. Sign up<\/a> for their newsletters.<\/p>\n

On a recent weekday morning in Los Angeles, a young mother dropped off her 2-year-old and 4-year-old at a child care center located in a neighbor\u2019s home. It was the 2-year-old\u2019s birthday, so she also brought a treat for the staff and kids: a \u201cCars\u201d-themed red velvet cake, the child\u2019s favorite.<\/p>\n

Then she went off to her job as an office cleaner. The child care provider never saw her again.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was picked up,\u201d said the provider, Adriana, who asked to be identified only by her first name because although she is a legal resident of the U.S. she fears wrongful deportation. She also asked not to name the mother and children. \u201cThe kids were saying, \u2018Where\u2019s mommy? Where\u2019s mommy?\u2019 It was hard for us providers to explain. It was heartbreaking.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Trump administration\u2019s sweeping crackdown on immigrants has taken a particularly high toll on the child care industry \u2013 both for families and providers. In California, almost 40%<\/a> of the workforce is foreign-born and more than a million parents \u2014 immigrant and otherwise \u2014 rely on child care providers so they can go to work.<\/p>\n

Absenteeism and empty classrooms<\/p>\n

Several recent reports have found that since Trump beefed up immigration enforcement, child care centers have lost staff \u2014 immigrants who are afraid to come to work \u2014 as well as immigrant parents who are afraid to drop their children off for fear of being arrested and separated from their children.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One study<\/a>, from the Center for Study of Child Care Employment at UC Berkeley, found the effects to be wide-ranging.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe administration\u2019s policies targeting immigrant populations not only harm the immigrant (early childhood education) workforce, they also have the potential to destabilize the already-fragile ECE system that immigrant and nonimmigrant children, families, and ECE professionals rely on,\u201d the authors wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The loss of staff and revenue has affected all families<\/a>, not just immigrants, because it means the already-tight child care market has shrunk even further, according to New America, a left-leaning think tank based in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cAggressive immigration enforcement has already caused closures, empty classrooms, and absenteeism in day care centers in some communities,\u201d according to a report <\/a>by the American Immigration Council, a research and advocacy organization.<\/p>\n

\u2018Bigger than we can imagine\u2019<\/p>\n

California is home to about 1.7 million babies and toddlers, the vast majority of whom spend at least some time in child care while their parents work. Some are enrolled in licensed day care centers, some have nannies, and others have informal arrangements with neighbors or family members.<\/p>\n

The tightening of the child care industry has been an extra burden on families who are already juggling the demands of work and home life. Child care is expensive and hard to find<\/a> in California \u2014 the immigration crackdown has made it even harder.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact, especially on women, is bigger than we can imagine,\u201d said Patricia Lozano, executive director of Early Edge California, which advocates for early childhood education.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the children who might suffer the most, she said. Not only are some missing their regular child care providers, but those with immigrant parents may be experiencing stress at home and a disruption of their routine.<\/p>\n

\u201cKids benefit from going to child care. That\u2019s a healthy, safe place for them to be,\u201d Lozano said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lozano\u2019s group encourages immigrant families to make a plan for their children in case a parent is arrested, and inform the child care provider. The group also reminds child care providers they shouldn\u2019t allow immigration enforcement officers into a child care center unless the agents have a signed judicial warrant. Early Edge California and other groups have published a website, All in for Safe Schools<\/a>, that offers guidance to schools and child care centers on how to help immigrant families and LGBTQ students.\u00a0In addition, the Service Employees International Union, which represents more than 30,000 chid care providers in California, also provides resources for immigrants.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnow your rights, have a plan, be prepared,\u201d Lozano said. \u201cAnd talk to your kids about it in a way they can understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Locked doors, pulled shades<\/p>\n

In Alameda County, where 34% of the population is foreign-born, the immigration crackdown has had a noticeable effect on families and child care providers, even though the county has not seen significant immigration enforcement compared to other regions, said Kym Johnson, chief executive officer of BANANAS, a nonprofit child care referral and family resource service in Oakland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some child care providers are avoiding public places, such as parks and playgrounds, while some immigrant families have dropped out of playgroups or kept their children home from day care when immigration agents are spotted in the neighborhood, Johnson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At one playgroup in East Oakland, organizers started locking the door and closing the blinds to make families feel safe. At another playgroup, located at a library, staff helped families create safety plans in case immigration agents arrived.<\/p>\n

Bananas used to hold monthly diaper give-aways in a parking lot that would regularly attract 200 families. Fewer people started showing up after Trump took office, Johnson said, so now the group holds the giveaways several times a month, attracting smaller crowds, and moved the event indoors, so families can\u2019t be seen from the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have been trying to stay under the radar when they can,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe do what we can to help people, because so many of these families don\u2019t have a voice. And the kiddos especially don\u2019t have a voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018They\u2019re targeting everyone\u2019<\/p>\n

Adriana, the child care provider in Los Angeles, has been in the child care business for 23 years. She tends to a dozen or so children in her home and is also raising her own four children. The day of the 2-year-old\u2019s \u201cCars\u201d-themed birthday, Adriana called the children\u2019s grandmother after the mother didn\u2019t arrive to pick them up.<\/p>\n

Alarmed, the grandmother tried unsuccessfully to reach the children\u2019s mother and then brought the children to her house. Eventually the family learned what happened: Both the children\u2019s parents plus their uncle were arrested and deported to Colombia. After a few weeks, the grandmother and children moved to Colombia, as well, so the family could be united.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Adriana started bringing her passport everywhere she went. She also started locking both gates at her house, not opening the front door unless she knows who\u2019s ringing the bell, and working with parents \u2014 even those with legal status \u2014 to create back-up plans in case they\u2019re arrested.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here legally, but they\u2019re targeting everyone,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m just scared. What if my kids are in school and I can\u2019t call? I try not to let it affect me, but it\u2019s always in the back of my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

She often feels frustrated and helpless, but tries to create a safe, welcoming environment for the children in her care so they can focus on having fun \u2014 and find some relief from the anxiety they may be feeling at home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sad. (Immigration agents) are targeting hard-working people, not criminals,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople who are just trying to make ends meet for their families. But my job is to take care of children. So we try not to put that fear onto the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on CalMatters<\/a> and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives<\/a> license.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Carolyn Jones, CalMatters An empty classroom for pre-K and kindergarten students in Burnt Ranch on Dec. 13,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160282,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,536,23524,15,14],"class_list":["post-160281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-donald-trump","tag-early-childhood-education","tag-education","tag-immigration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}