A 'palpable fear around attendance' for Oakland's immigrant students

"Daniel Espana is one of a dozen clinical social workers who serve new immigrants in Oakland's public schools. Based out of Rudsdale Continuation School in deep East Oakland, Espana provides mental health care and case management to students aged 16 to 22 who arrived in the United States within the last three years. In an interview with The Oaklandside, Espana recalled a newcomer student who'd left his family in Florida to move to Oakland to care for his young son, whose mother lives here."

"Earlier this year, Espana said, some of the student's family members in Florida got deported. "That student now no longer comes to school," Espana said. "He's like, 'I'm just gonna work because I don't have anyone else here to support me and my child.'" In Espana's six years in this role, he said he's seen firsthand the pressures facing newly arrived students and their families, which he said have only worsened under the second Trump administration."

""I've had students stop showing up to school because they have deep fears and anxieties of being detained," he said. Espana said the experience of the young man from Florida wasn't unique; many students he's met with have had to shift their priorities from school to work. "Instead of finishing their education," he said, "students are working to try to support their families abroad as much as they can, because they fear that they'll be deported soon.""

Daniel Espana serves newly arrived immigrant students in Oakland public schools, providing mental health care and case management to 16-to-22-year-olds who arrived within three years. Family separations and recent deportations prompted some students to abandon school to work and support children or relatives. Increased and unpredictable ICE raids intensified fears, anxiety, and absenteeism among newcomers. Many students shift priorities from finishing their education to supporting families abroad amid deportation concerns. The students possess rich, complex talents but confront numerous barriers. Since 2013, the district has staffed an office of English Language Learners and Multilingual Achievement (ELLMA).

Read at The Oaklandside