Wake County Public Schools saw absentee rates jump Nov. 18, 2025 as Border Patrol agents began enforcement raids in the Triangle. (Photo: Getty Images/Antonio Hugo)
The Wake County Public School System released data Wednesday showing how student enrollment has been affected by the federal immigration crackdown that began in the Triangle Tuesday.
While no immigration enforcement activities were reported at any of its campuses, the system recorded 19,471 absences on Nov. 18. That means nearly 11% of students in the district opted not to attend school on Tuesday, an increase of 7,841 absences above baseline data the school district examined. That represents a 67% jump in absences over an average day.
More than 110 schools in the district reported an absence rate above 10% on Tuesday, according to Lisa Luten, the chief communications officer for Wake County Schools.
Raleigh’s Baileywick Elementary School saw one of the steepest declines in attendance, dropping from nearly 91% on Monday to 68% on Tuesday with 161 children absent.
School administrators, teachers, and support teams are now actively reaching out to families across the district to ensure students stay connected to their classrooms, Luten said.
Anxious NC students ask how to respond
The news forced parent Amanda Paoloni to have a difficult conversation with her 14-year-old daughter this week. The 8th grader had seen stories about the U.S. Border Patrol crisscrossing North Carolina. She asked what she should do if her best friend were approached or taken by unidentifiable armed and masked men.
Paoloni said she knew her daughter’s best friend is of Mexican descent, but never once thought about her immigration status or that of her parents.
“What I do know is, she is kind. Quick with a smile, encourages my daughter to read, and laughs at her jokes,” Paoloni said at the Wake County School Board meeting Tuesday evening.
Wake County parent Amanda Paoloni. (Photo: WCPSS video stream)Paoloni said she did her best to explain in simple terms that a teenager would grasp how to best manage her fear and adrenaline while being the most help in the moment.
But her daughter had so many other questions.
How do we know these people are ICE?
Why aren’t they identifying themselves?
What happens if they aren’t ICE?
How is this legal?
When the teenager said there was no way she would let an unidentified masked man take her best friend without a fight, Paoloni was scared.
“I looked at her and I said, ‘If you enter a physical altercation, you will lose,'” she told the school board.
Paoloni said this was not a conversation about learning, but rather a conversation about survival.
Wake Co. School Board member Christina Gordon (Photo: WCPSS video stream)“Children cannot learn when they are in survival mode. Fear destroys the conditions required for student achievement: focus, memory, emotional regulation and a sense of safety,” said Paoloni.
Board member Christina Gordon, who has three children in Wake County’s public schools, acknowledged having a similar conversation with her own boys about the fear created by the threat of ICE enforcement.
“When fear enters our classrooms, it disrupts everything for everyone,” said Gordon, who has taught in both Wake and Durham County public schools. “I want to be clear, our commitment is to students, not to systems that destabilize their wellbeing.”
School board member Lynn Edmonds called the presence of masked federal agents a form of domestic terrorism.
“The presence of ICE, whether it’s here in Wake County or elsewhere, causes real, unnecessary and long-term trauma,” said Edmonds.
No one during Tuesday’s open comment period spoke publicly in support of the stepped up enforcement effort.
Immigration raids and learning loss
Long before the border patrol enforcement, Wake County’s school leaders made improving consistent attendance a top goal. Missing just two days a month can add up to more than two weeks of lost learning each year, according to information on the school district’s website.
Irene Godinez is the executive director of Poder NC Action, a nonprofit group advocating for immigrant rights, and the mother of a nine-year-old in the Wake school system. (Photo: WCPSS video)A recent study by Stanford University finds immigration raids in communities with large immigrant populations have resulted in increased student absenteeism. The study found that even when the raids lasted just a few days, school absenteeism remained elevated for several weeks.
Irene Godinez, executive director of Poder NC Action, a nonprofit group advocating for immigrant rights, is the mother of a nine-year-old student in the Wake school system. She said the toxic stress caused by these unpredictable, unannounced raids goes well beyond learning loss.
“One in four children in the U.S. live in mixed-status families. Even U.S. citizens and children carry the constant fear that a parent may be taken from them,” she cautioned.
Godinez pointed to the case of a Durham 13-year-old who died by suicide in late February after being bullied about her family’s immigration status.
Godinez also urged school board members to adopt a non-punitive attendance policy during this immigration enforcement surge.
“Realistically, families experiencing terror cannot be burdened with proactively advocating for their child to be excused from class, not when they are protecting themselves from being hunted,” Godinez said.
Superintendent Robert P. Taylor has said the school district honors all laws protecting the privacy of Wake children and will remain focused on the well-being and education of every student, regardless of their background.
The Wake County Public School System has issued the following resources for parents and caregivers: How to talk to children about difficult news Helping children cope: tips for parents and caregivers How to talk to kids about stressful situations Supporting children in politically charged times Information on reporting absences.Hence then, the article about as immigration raids descend on triangle focus turns to protecting children from trauma was published today ( ) and is available on NC news line ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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