Immigration Policies Harm the Early Childhood Workforce and the Communities They Serve

The administration is also determined to facilitate the mass detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States and to punish localities and organizations that provide benefits and sanctuary to these populations (The White House, 2025c). The United States economy heavily relies on the contributions of immigrants and is bound to be impacted by these policies. In 2023, approximately 31 million immigrants contributed to the U.S. economy, comprising roughly 19 percent of the civilian workforce (Roy, 2024). 

The numbers are similar within the field of early care and education (ECE) in which one in five early childhood professionals are immigrants (Ali et al., 2024). But the administration’s policies targeting immigrant populations not only harm the immigrant ECE workforce, they also have the potential to destabilize the already-fragile ECE system that immigrant and nonimmigrant children, families, and ECE professionals rely on. 

Democratic Attorneys General in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont are already fighting against recent directives requiring local and state law enforcement to participate in enforcing immigration policies (Fernandez, 2025). Across the nation, communities and early educators are resisting the administration’s anti-immigrant efforts. They are educating families and one another about their rights, protecting each other from exposure to immigration operations, and rallying in support of immigrant rights.

Protected Areas Policy Ended

The Trump-Vance administration’s directive to end the “Protected Areas” guidance from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) directly impacts the children and families that receive ECE services and the educators and providers that offer them (Bustillo & Martínez-Beltrán, 2025; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2025a). For decades, the internal guidance limited Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Protected Areas, also referred to as “Sensitive Locations,” including early care and education settings, other places of learning, healthcare facilities, and places of worship (Morton, 2011; Puleo, 1993).

The new directive now allows immigration officers to conduct enforcement operations at or near locations that were previously protected, encouraging the use of “common sense” when operating in these spaces (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 2025). Without explicit guidance, CBP and ICE officials can interpret protocols however they wish, which raises concerns about the possible detention of innocent bystanders or instances of racial profiling, which already have been documented since the inauguration (Gamboa, 2025). 

Increased enforcement of immigration policies and the repeal of the Protected Areas guidance are likely to reduce overall attendance and participation in early childhood programs across the nation. Both immigrant and nonimmigrant educators and providers may not feel safe at work and may choose to stop working to ensure their safety or the safety of their family members. Already, the Trump-Vance administration’s immigration policies have impacted programs throughout the United States. For example, in Pennsylvania, a classroom for one-year-olds closed after center teachers expressed hesitation about working, given the presence of immigration officials in the neighborhood (Mader, 2025). And home-based providers in Maryland are advising Latina providers to remove identifying information about their programs, including bilingual signage and personal contact information, to avoid being targeted (Lora, 2025a). 

Regardless of their immigration status, families may be considering whether to withdraw their children from early childhood programs out of fear they may be separated from them (Golden, 2025). A 2024 study analyzing the impacts of immigration policy enforcement found that immigrant and nonimmigrant children’s participation decreased in center-based programs between 2008 and 2014, especially among children from under-resourced families (Ali et al., 2024). Although enforcement of current immigration policies is happening in real time and data are slow to collect, existing research points to the likelihood of participation dropping even further under the Trump-Vance administration. Already in New Mexico, a home-based provider reported that five of twelve children in her program (approximately 42 percent) stopped attending after the inauguration. Families from her program are leaving their children with relatives to lessen their risk of exposure to law enforcement (Mader, 2025).

According to a statement from the Interim Director at the Center for Law and Social Policy, enforcement of these immigration policies has the potential to destabilize the early childhood workforce, impacting recruitment and retention and reducing the number of early childhood programs (Center for Law and Social Policy and National Immigration Law Center, 2025; Golden, 2025). Low attendance and low enrollment based on fears of separation or deportation harm center- and home-based programs by leading to program disruptions and closures. This situation also impacts ECE professionals, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status, by possibly resulting in layoffs and lower wages in programs that rely on children’s attendance and enrollment for continued funding. Aggressive immigration policies are bound to disrupt an already-fragile industry and are likely to impact entire communities. 

On February 7, 2025, Congressional Democrats reintroduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act (H.R.1061/S.455) in response to the Trump-Vance administration’s rescission of the policy. The reintroduction would codify the guidance into law and ensure that future administrations could not dismiss the established protections (Congressmember Adriano Espaillat, 2025; U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, 2025). Even before its reintroduction, states such as California and Maryland had already introduced measures to ensure locations deemed sensitive remain protected (California State Assembly Democratic Caucus, 2024; Maryland General Assembly, 2025).

Immigrant Populations’ Access to Federally Funded Programs Restricted

The President also issued an Executive Order titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders” to identify all federally funded programs that allow undocumented people to access public benefits and services. The order seeks to prohibit undocumented immigrants from accessing federally funded benefits and prevent programs from supporting “sanctuary” policies or promoting undocumented immigration (The White House, 2025b). There is currently a 60-day pause on federal funding to nonprofits that serve removable or undocumented people (Immigrant Legal Resource Center, 2025b). 

Since undocumented immigrants are already ineligible for the majority of federal programs, this Executive Order does not change much for the undocumented population (Broder & Lessard, 2024). However, increased restrictions in the future could lead to additional eligibility requirements and restrictions on public assistance programs and services (D’Avanzo, 2025a). These possible limitations may impact authorized immigrants who are eligible to receive assistance, harming educators, providers, and other workers who contribute significantly to the U.S. economy. As of now, this Executive Order does not change authorized immigrant families’ eligibility for benefits like the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or housing programs. It primarily serves to further intimidate immigrant populations, including those authorized to reside in the United States (D’Avanzo, 2025b).

Congressional Republicans are also considering significant cuts to programs and services that support many immigrants and nonimmigrants in the United States, including programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (D’Avanzo, 2025a; Park, 2025). They have signaled they will limit authorized and unauthorized immigrants’ eligibility for federal programs that support families’ well-being, as well as eligibility for the Affordable Care Act and child tax credits, like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) (D’Avanzo, 2025a). 

According to research by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE), an estimated 43 percent of the families of ECE professionals participate in programs like SNAP, Medicaid, EITC, and TANF due to the economic challenges they experience as a result of their low wages (McLean et al., 2024). Data specifically for immigrant educators and providers are not available, but without access to the benefits, opportunities, and services that U.S. citizenship facilitates, it is likely that members of the immigrant workforce experience more economic hardship than their citizen counterparts.

Immigrants comprise a large portion of educators in home-based programs, where economic insecurity and inadequate resources are prevalent (McLean et al., 2024). Of those employed in center-based programs, immigrants are more likely to be employed as assistant teachers than lead teachers (McLean et al., 2024). Immigrants are already severely limited in the types of federal assistance they receive, and further restrictions would harm educators, providers, and other workers who contribute significantly to the U.S. economy.

Noncitizen Registration Required

The U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services recently released an “Alien Registration Requirement” in compliance with the President’s January 20, 2025, Executive Order “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” which requires all noncitizens 14 years and older to apply for fingerprinting and registration (The White House, 2025a; U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2025). The announcement requires guardians and parents of noncitizens below the age of 14 to register these children, as well. This requirement became effective April 11, 2025. Registration does not create an immigration status, authorize employment in the United States, or provide any other right under U.S. law (U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2025).

Once a noncitizen has been fingerprinted and registered, the Department of Homeland Security will issue evidence of registration and will require all noncitizens over 18 to keep this documentation in their possession at all times. According to the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services, failure to comply will result in civil and criminal penalties, including the imposition of fines, misdemeanor prosecution, and incarceration (U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2025).

The Alien Registration Requirement is one of many efforts the administration is making to facilitate the intimidation, mass detention, and deportation of immigrants residing in the United States.

According to the National Immigration Law Center, undocumented immigrants who register under the Alien Registration Requirement are in danger of becoming subject to criminal prosecution, deportation, or detention (National Immigration Law Center, 2025). Likewise, individuals who do not register will be considered liable for criminal prosecution. Authorized immigrants who are already registered, but who fail to carry proof of registration at all times, may be detained and prosecuted (American Immigration Council, 2025). The administration has been explicit in its intentions to create a hostile environment for immigrants so that they will choose to self-deport (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2025b). 

The implementation of the Alien Registration Requirement will harm communities across the nation. At the very least, increased detentions and deportations of authorized and unauthorized immigrants will disrupt local economies, heighten over-policing and racial profiling, and increase family separations (National Immigration Law Center, 2025). Registration requirements of the past, such as the Alien Registration Act of 1940, have facilitated the victimization of entire populations in the United States.

Resistance Efforts Underway

Since Day One of the Trump-Vance administration, communities across the nation have responded to these threats by educating one another through campaigns, trainings, and workshops and by rallying in support of immigrants. For example, within the first month of the new administration, more than 50 community organizations in Los Angeles, California, formed a coalition to organize trainings for community members on how to defend immigrant neighbors from ICE raids (Marquez, 2025). In Chicago, Illinois, the “Don’t Talk to ICE” and “Know Your Rights” campaigns have educated community members on how to respond to ICE presence. The Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations, Thomas Homan, has even said that sanctuary cities like Chicago are making it “difficult” to enforce Trump’s immigration policies (Lazare & Burns, 2025). 

To date, the largest protest specifically against the administration’s anti-immigrant policies came on February 3, 2025, “A Day Without Immigrants,” in which business owners, consumers, students, and workers refrained from daily activities to illustrate the crucial role that immigrants have in the country’s economy and society. Thousands of people from nearly 40 states participated (Ortiz, 2025). 

Throughout the United States, other demonstrations protesting the administration’s policies in general are ramping up (Lee, 2025). On April 5, more than 1,400 “Hands Off!” demonstrations were organized in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Upwards of 5 million people peacefully protested a variety of issues, including harmful immigration policies (Cone, 2025). More Hands Off! demonstrations are being planned throughout the year in the hopes that numbers will continue to grow.

On May 1, International Workers’ Day, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) locals and allies will participate in actions across the nation to stand in solidarity with immigrant communities and workers. May Day events will be held in different cities in more than 20 states (iAmerica, 2025).

The early childhood workforce is also engaging in efforts to educate and protect educators and families on how to prepare for ICE presence in their communities. 

• A center-based program in Texas is providing Red Cards produced by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and other informational resources for families to help them understand their rights if they encounter immigration officials (Immigrant Legal Resource Center, n.d.; Mader, 2025). 
• In Illinois, attendance for early learning programs dropped during the week of Trump’s inauguration, however, it gradually recovered once Know Your Rights Workshops began being held (Migration Policy Institute, 2025). 
• In California, a director of a home-based program that serves migrant children has begun delivering groceries and transporting children to and from the child care program to help the children’s parents limit their exposure to immigration officials (Mader, 2025). 
• In Virginia, an immigration lawyer has been accepting invitations to visit early childhood programs and educate early educators on evolving immigration policies (Swartz, 2025).
• The Latino Child Care Association of Maryland is hosting seminars to inform the immigrant and Latine workforce about their rights when interacting with immigration officials (Hatch, 2025). 

Additionally, early childhood programs are responding by developing new protocols. For example, as seen in Maryland, some providers are removing identifying information about their programs to avoid being targeted (Lora, 2025a). Others are changing documentation policies in order to better protect the privacy of their families and staff (Cohen, 2025; Migration Policy Institute, 2025). Early childhood programs across the nation are also establishing protocols for how to engage with immigration officials if they come to the door (Cohen, 2025; Lora, 2025b; Migration Policy Institute, 2025). 

As the Trump-Vance administration continues to enforce its immigration policies, the already-fragile early care and education system will be further weakened. It will become essential for cities and states to enact policies to protect the educators and providers offering early childhood services and the children and families receiving them.

Further Resources

As enforcement of the Trump-Vance administration’s immigration policies escalates, it will be important for everyone to be informed of their rights. Below are a few resources that may be of use to immigrant and nonimmigrant readers.

A Guide to Creating “Safe Space” Policies for Early Childhood Programs: The Center for Law and Social Policy recently updated this guide, which provides information and resources so that advocates, policymakers, and practitioners can protect families’ privacy and establish and implement “safe space” policies to safeguard early childhood programs against the enforcement of immigration policies (Pandey et al., 2025).

Immigration Policy Tracking Project: The Immigration Policy Tracking Project has compiled information about immigration policies under the Trump-Vance administration. Policies are indexed, summarized, and routinely updated to most accurately reflect developments and implementation (Immigration Policy Tracking Project, 2025).

Know Your Rights Toolkit: The Immigrant Legal Resource Center has created a toolkit for advocates and community members with information and resources on Family Preparedness Plans, Know Your Rights information and tutorials, and Red Cards. The toolkit also provides contact information for Rapid Response Networks in California and nonprofit legal service providers throughout the United States (Immigrant Legal Resource Center, 2025a).

Resources for Immigrant Families and Home-Based Child Care Providers and Caregivers: Home Grown has published a document full of resources to support immigrant caregivers, families, and providers. The document features Know Your Rights information, multiple resources for families on preventing family separation (basic needs, legal, and other supports), and up-to-date information on changes to Sensitive Locations policies for families and providers (Home Grown, 2025).

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Suggested Citation

Muñoz, S., & McLean, C. (2025). Immigration Policies Harm the Early Childhood Workforce and the Communities They Serve. Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, University of California, Berkeley. https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/brief/immigration-policies-harm-ece/

Acknowledgments

This brief was generously supported with a grant from the Bainum Family Foundation. We are grateful to Dr. Marcy Whitebook and Penelope Whitney at CSCCE and Rachel Wilensky and Suma Setty at the Center for Law and Social Policy for their review of the draft. Thank you to Baoviet K. Nguyen for his design and layout work.

The views presented in this brief are those of the authors and may not reflect the views of the brief’s funder or those acknowledged for lending their expertise or providing feedback. 

Editor: Deborah Meacham

About CSCCE

Founded in 1999, the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) is the national leader in early care and education workforce research and policy. We act on the premise that educators should be valued, respected, and guaranteed economic dignity and that the provision of early care and education is a public responsibility.

Center for the Study of Child Care Employment
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University of California, Berkeley
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