As Immigration Enforcement Pushes Students Out of Classrooms, EdTrust Expands its Portfolio

EdTrust acquires the National Newcomer Network, a coalition of 500+ educators, researchers, and advocates, to strengthen national efforts to ensure all students can learn, belong, and succeed

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 1 million immigrant children and youth are enrolled in U.S. elementary and secondary schools. However, recent immigration enforcement activity is making it even harder for some students to access public education out of the growing fear of putting their families at risk of detention or deportation. Research examining five California school districts found that daily student absences increased by 22% following immigration raids, with some of the largest increases occurring among the youngest students. Moreover, researchers have found that the presence or perceived presence of immigration enforcement activity near schools contributes to lower academic performance. Just last summer, the Maryland state superintendent of education attributed declining graduation rates among the state's Latino students to increased immigration enforcement.

At a moment when students from mixed-status, immigrant, and undocumented families need greater support, protection, and opportunity, EdTrust today announced that the National Newcomer Network, a national coalition dedicated to improving educational opportunities for recently arrived immigrant and refugee students, will join its education equity efforts. Alejandra Vázquez Baur, the network's co-founder and director, will also join EdTrust as director of immigrant students policy, advocacy, and partnerships.

Amid a background of growing anti-immigrant sentiment at the federal level and local enforcement tactics, students are caught in the middle. "Immigrant students arrive in our schools carrying enormous potential, knowledge, courage, and dreams for their futures. They should be welcomed by educational systems prepared to recognize those strengths and help them to succeed," said Vázquez Baur.

"History has shown us that exclusion rarely stops with one community. If we fail to defend the educational rights of immigrant students today, we weaken the protections that safeguard opportunity for all students tomorrow. Public education must remain a place where every child belongs, every family is welcomed, and every student has the chance to reach their full potential. By joining EdTrust, we can strengthen this national community and turn the experiences of students, families, and educators into meaningful systemic change," Vázquez Baur continues.

The National Newcomer Network brings together more than 500 educators, researchers, advocates, and organizational partners across 46 states. Founded by The Century Foundation and Next100, the network connects people working to develop systemic solutions to the inequities immigrant and mixed-status students experience in K-12 schools.

The network's work includes:

• Advocating for stronger federal, state, and local policies, funding, accountability, and civil rights protections for newcomer students
• Elevating the experiences, ideas, and aspirations of newcomer students and their families
• Supporting educators with professional development, instructional resources, and opportunities to learn from one another
• Building a national community of practice that connects educators, researchers, advocates, and policymakers across states

"Every student deserves to enter a school where they are safe, welcomed, challenged, and supported, regardless of where they were born or what language they speak," said Denise Forte, president and CEO of EdTrust.

"A family's immigration status is not a problem for our education system to solve. They are young people with extraordinary strengths and limitless potential, and our education system has a responsibility to serve them well. Alejandra and the National Newcomer Network bring deep expertise, trusted relationships, and the voices of hundreds of educators and advocates to EdTrust. Together, we will work to ensure that immigrant students are not merely enrolled in our schools, but are given every opportunity to learn, belong, and succeed."

As part of EdTrust, the National Newcomer Network will continue cultivating its national membership while expanding its capacity to conduct research, shape policy, strengthen advocacy, support educators, and elevate the voices of immigrant students and families. The partnership will also connect the network's expertise with EdTrust's broader work to improve educational opportunity from preschool through college.

Vázquez Baur is a nationally recognized policy expert and advocate whose work focuses on immigrant students, English learners, and education equity. She has worked extensively with educators, young people, families, advocates, researchers, and policymakers to advance more responsive and inclusive public education systems.

About the National Newcomer Network
The National Newcomer Network is a coalition of more than 500 educators, researchers, advocates, and organizational partners representing 46 states. The network works to develop systemic solutions to inequities affecting newcomer immigrant and refugee students in K-12 schools by advancing policy change, strengthening professional learning, elevating student and community voices, and connecting practitioners and advocates across the country.

About EdTrust
EdTrust is a national nonprofit organization that advances policies and practices to dismantle the racial and economic barriers embedded in the American education system. Through research and advocacy, EdTrust changes the way public education works, and who it works for, from preschool through college.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Education Trust