Houston ISD's immigrant student population fell by nearly 4,000 students this year - a 22% decline, according to records obtained by the Houston Chronicle.This year, the state's largest district has also seen disproportionate drops among its emergent bilingual students and Hispanic and Latino enrollment. Both documented and undocumented students have been affected by President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown this year, experts say, and many students are staying home from school due to deportation fears.Those declines could have future impacts on students' careers, school funding and the local economy, according to advocates, educators and immigration experts. Here are five takeaways from the Chronicle's exclusive analysis.EXCLUSIVE: HISD has lost nearly 4,000 immigrant students amid ICE crackdown: 'We fear coming to school'ICE enforcement in HoustonHarris County and the surrounding counties have seen a surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity since President Trump launched his mass deportation campaign in early 2025. Calls from Houston Police Department officers to ICE have also increased since 2025. One in four of those ended with a person being arrested by ICE agents.Advocates say the so-called "worst of the worst" aren't the sole focus of ICE's operations and that the agency is also targeting immigrant parents. That's led to some U.S. citizen children being left without a caregiver or forced to follow a parent out of the country. PROTESTS: Hundreds of Houston-area students protest ICE despite threats from the TEA and Greg AbbottHISD's immigrant student losses{ "__type": "devHubFreeformEmbed", "__id": "Datawrapper", "__fallbackImage": "https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/dtRSR/mobile.png", "__data": { "datawrapper_id": "dtRSR" } }Even as HISD's total enrollment dropped by nearly 20,000 students from 2020 to 2025, its immigrant student population continued to grow. The Texas Education Agency defines immigrant students as those who were not born in the United States and have not been attending school in any state for more than three full academic years.This school year, HISD's immigrant student population fell by nearly 4,000 students - a 22% decline - marking the first drop in that group since the pandemic.DETENTION: Appeals court ruling could reshape immigrant detention in Texas. Here's how.Emergent bilingual declines{ "__type": "devHubFreeformEmbed", "__id": "Datawrapper", "__fallbackImage": "https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/INfqH/mobile.png", "__data": { "datawrapper_id": "INfqH" } }From 2020 to 2023, HISD's emergent bilingual population grew by more than 6,000 students, even as total enrollment declined. By the 2024-25 school year, that number began to drop. This school year, HISD's number of emergent bilingual students fell by nearly 8,000 students - reversing all of the group's growth since COVID.An emergent bilingual student is in the process of learning English and has another language as their primary language. Emergent bilingual students may be enrolled in English as a Second Language programs or dual language immersion programs.Losses by race and ethnicity{ "__type": "devHubFreeformEmbed", "__id": "Datawrapper", "__fallbackImage": "https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/A2D3y/mobile.png", "__data": { "datawrapper_id": "A2D3y" } }Since the pandemic, HISD has seen its enrollment drop across almost all of its largest racial and ethnic groups. Those declines have been more pronounced for certain groups, however. Since 2020, HISD's Asian population has grown slightly, even as the district's Black and Hispanic populations have each fallen by more than 15%.This school year, the district's white enrollment increased slightly, but it fell in every other group. HISD's Black and Asian populations fell by 4%. Hispanic enrollment saw the steepest drop, at 6%.LEGAL CHALLENGE: Can Texas enforce immigration law on its own?Long-term outlookThousands of students are now staying home from school out of fear of being detained, cutting them off from their education and future careers, according to advocates, educators and immigration experts.Over time, they warn, the fallout could mean school funding cuts, population declines and a weaker economy for Houston. State-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles has said enrollment declines tied to deportation fears could mean cuts to staffing, the central office, key programs and its overall budget.Megan Menchaca contributed to this report.This article originally published at Houston ISD lost nearly 4,000 immigrant students this year. Here are 5 takeaways..