“It doesn’t feel good to think that one day our parents won’t make it home or that we get that horrifying call from our parents,” said one FUHS student whose father is undocumented. “We haven’t gone out in weeks because of the fear that something may happen.”

She isn’t alone. For immigrant students at Fullerton High School, February has been chaotic and stressful.

FUHS averages about 133 absences per day; however, there were 362 students absent on Feb. 3, “A Day Without Immigrants” when many immigrants and allies didn’t work and chose to keep their children at home to protest immigration policies.

That same week, a Buena Park classified employee posted on Instagram a picture of the Mexican flag with the caption “If y’all have flags I will burn them for you! This is America. They are deporting criminals.” The employee also tagged the high school’s Instagram account, according to the Orange County Register. The inflammatory post inspired students to protest on the Buena Park campus. Superintendent Steve McLaughlin released a statement Feb. 7 saying that the post did not reflect the views of the Fullerton Joint Union High School District and that the staff member had been placed on administrative leave.

Two days later, the organization Dare To Struggle held a protest in Fullerton. Demonstrators marched along Harbor Blvd and surrounding streets Sunday with chants ranging from “The people united will never be defeated!” to “It is right to rebel!”

The pushback has been a response to the Trump administration’s new immigration policies. The President declared a national emergency at the southern border on Jan. 20, the day he took office. The same day, he issued a “Securing Our Borders” executive order, a policy that includes detaining and removing “illegal aliens.”

67% of FUHS students are hispanic; several are immigrants and the children of immigrants.

The student the Tribe Tribune spoke to said that she feels the need to keep track of her father through Life360, a phone app that locates items, family and friends. “I need to know that he’s safe,” she said. “He even showed me how to manage a bank account in case one day he doesn’t make it home to us.”

While she went through this uncertainty during Trump’s first term, she was only in elementary school. “This time around I definitely freaked out because I am more informed.”

She told the Tribune that she’s heard of ICE arresting and detaining people in the community, including flower vendors. Her family members attending Nicolas Junior High School have seen students avoiding going to school because there have been rumors of ICE being there.

However, Nicolas principal Jose Varela says students are safe. “No immigration officers have ever been on my campus,” Varela said.

According to Varela, attendance numbers at Nicolas Junior High have been about the same all year, with the exception of Feb. 3 when about 34% of Nicolas students were absent for the Day without Immigrants protest.

Although Nicolas’s attendance is steady, some schools are reporting declines. According to CalMatters, the Salinas City Elementary School District has seen its attendance drop from 95% to 91% from August to mid-January. 

Varela is aware of the fear that many students have. “Most important is informing our families that Nicolas is the safest place for their students,” he said.

The Tribune’s anonymous source said her family members who attend Nicolas appreciate Principal Varela. “[Varela] has tried his best to inform the students that Nicolas is a safe space by showing a video in class and having the teachers inform the students as well, which is something we should do here at Fullerton.”

Varela said, “I feel that the biggest fear we have is the unknown. So by educating our parents and students of the different ways we can support each other and be prepared, hopefully we can ease the minds of our students.”

Assistant principal Leticia Gonzalez pointed out that the District policy is to welcome students regardless of immigration status and to not disclose student information to immigration authorities (policies BP 5145.13 and AR 5145.13 specifically). Students and families have also received emails from the school attempting to inform them about the situation and ease any worries that they may have.

But the student the Tribune interviewed says that having board policies and emails is not enough.

“Unless [school officials] are pulling these kids aside, it’s just hard to explain to somebody who lives in fear that school is a safe place when there’s a lot of misinformation going around about schools calling ICE on students,” she said. “I do think that more can be done instead of just sending out emails that not many parents read. I had to be the one to inform my dad because he just doesn’t have the time to check his emails.”

Principal Jon Caffrey says he understands that students are concerned, but school officials cannot pull aside students for individual conversations. “We do not know who our undocumented students are,” Caffrey said. “We educate all students, so asking to pull them aside and identify them would not be an appropriate option.”

FUHS Spanish teacher Magdalena Villalba says people need to realize how widespread these fears are in the community. “Because immigration status is a subject that is unsafe to openly talk about, many people that aren’t personally impacted sometimes don’t grasp the magnitude of this fear,” said Villalba, who grew up in a mixed status family and community.

Villalba says that most experts calculate that statewide, 20% of students live in mixed status households. In other words, 1 in 5 students in California is undocumented or lives with undocumented family member(s).

If students are feeling overwhelmed, Villalba recommends they empower themselves by knowing their rights, especially by learning the “red card language” including phrases like “I do not wish to speak with you, answer your questions, or sign or hand you any documents. I do not give you permission to enter my home unless you have a warrant. I choose to exercise my constitutional rights.” Educators can order free Know Your Rights Red Cards in 20 languages from the California Teachers Association website.

Mental health specialist David Saldaña and Natalie Pantoja, an intern earning her Master’s and license as a clinical social worker, are available to help students. Saldaña and Pantoja are hosting the “Coping with Uncertainty” support group on Thursdays for students who are struggling to focus in class because of distress surrounding immigration. Students should complete an interest form and a parent needs to sign a consent form that can be found in Room 124.

Support is definitely needed, from what the Tribune’s student source says. “These students are under pressure and fear daily but have to continue to go to school for their education. I’ve tried to calm myself and keep a straight face to not worry my family but it’s hard.”