Huge number of students in Fresno and Madera skipped school to protest mass deportations
Tens of thousands of students in the Fresno and Madera school districts did not show up to school on Monday — massive attendance drops that coincided with a nationwide protest against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
About one-third of the 21,000 students enrolled in the Madera Unified School District did not show up to school Monday, according to district spokesperson Desiree Aragon.
Fresno Unified saw a similar drop in attendance. The region’s largest school district, which serves 68,000 students, had a student absence rate of almost 30%, more than three times the absence rate of 8% for an average school day.
Clovis Unified reported a 4% to 5% decrease in its normal attendance on Monday, as well.
Central Unified, a district in west Fresno with 16,000 students, saw a 10% increase in absences, according to Trustee Nabil Kherfan.
School district officials said they anticipated some absences stemming from the nationwide “A day without immigrants protest,” which encouraged immigrants and their children to stay home and avoid shopping along with business closures. The protest was similar to one held in February 2017, when many students also stayed home to protest Trump’s plans to build a border wall and deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
But school districts did not anticipate such a huge drop in attendance on Monday. Teachers and students in Fresno and Madera said some middle- and high-school campuses saw close to half their students skip school.
A U.S. Border Patrol operation in Kern County last month has also fueled concerns — and rumors and misinformation on social media — of potential deportation raids in the Fresno area, heightening anxiety among families of undocumented immigrants.
“It’s a real fear on our campuses. It’s definitely a topic of discussion and anxiety that’s going on,” said Manuel Bonilla, a McLane High teacher and the president of Fresno Teacher Association.
Heather Miller, an ethnic studies teacher at Edison High School, said only about half of her students showed up to some of her classes. Some students didn’t know about the strike until they came to school, she said, and there were talks among students about potentially organizing other events later in the week.
“Students are worried,” Miller said.“They’re scared for themselves and for their families. I think there’s a lot of uncertainty and fear.”
According to a Madera Unified educator, a rumor circulated on social media of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Madera on Monday. The district sent out messages to reassure parents that the rumor was not credible and that schools are safe.
The rumor followed news of plainclothes ICE agents making arrests at Madera County Superior Court in recent weeks.
Madera Unified declined to comment on the ICE raid rumor.
This story was originally published February 4, 2025 at 2:43 PM.
