One day after massive immigration raid, Idaho school district saw absences soar
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Becca Savransky and Carolyn Komatsoulis, Idaho Statesman
WILDER (Idaho Statesman) — The Wilder School District saw a significant drop in attendance last week after a law enforcement raid at a horse track in the town, where over 100 people were arrested by immigration agents.
On Oct. 20, the day after the raid, almost 20% of students were out of school — about twice as many absences as normal, Superintendent Alejandro Zamora reported at a school board meeting Monday. The district is submitting a certificate to the state about the low-attendance day, citing a “welfare concern,” in hopes that it isn’t included when calculating the district’s funding.
“It appeared to be a lot of just concern and questions for our families, and that impacted our attendance,” Zamora said during the board meeting. Zamora noted there was an increased law enforcement presence in the area.
Typically, district attendance is in the mid-to-low 90% range, Zamora said. The day after the raid, attendance was just above 80%, he said, a “huge impact.”
The state distributes funding largely based on average daily attendance, but school districts can avoid potentially being penalized for low attendance because of events that impact the health, safety or welfare of students. That can include if a district has to close because of a storm or on days when a significant number of students are out sick. If the request is approved, the district’s actual attendance on Oct. 20 wouldn’t impact calculations for its average daily attendance.
About 55% of students in the Wilder School District are Hispanic or Latino, and 11% are students from migrant families, according to data from the State Department of Education.
Across the country, parents in other states have opted to pull their kids out of school because of fears over immigration raids, according to national reports. In the Treasure Valley and across Idaho, fears of raids have prompted rumors about immigration enforcement since President Donald Trump took office in January after campaigning on increased deportations.
The FBI has arrested five people in the illegal gambling investigation that prompted the raid, each of whom was charged with a felony count of prohibition of an illegal gambling business. A grand jury also indicted two of the defendants on the charge of transmission of wagering information.
Federal agents arrested 105 people during the raid who the Department of Homeland Security said were undocumented, but an immigration attorney said agents also took three immigrants who were legally in the U.S, the Statesman previously reported.