Students protest outside Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center High School in support of Mauro Henriquez, a fellow student detained along with his father by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, calling for his release so he can return home and graduate with his class in Houston, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026.Raquel Natalicchio/Houston ChronicleHouston 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.Article continues below this adICE 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.Houston Chronicle LogoMake us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search.Add Preferred SourceAdvocates 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. Article continues below this adHISD's immigrant student lossesEven 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.Article continues below this adEmergent bilingual declinesFrom 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.Article continues below this adLosses by race and ethnicitySince 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%.Article continues below this adThis 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%.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.Feb 14, 2026Houston ISD ReporterClaire Partain is a Houston ISD reporter for the Houston Chronicle covering student achievement and the lead writer for the weekly Report Card newsletter. She can be reached at claire.partain@houstonchronicle.com. She got her start as sports editor at Texas State University (go ‘Cats!) before covering professional soccer team Austin FC and other Austin news at digital startup Austonia. Claire has also freelanced with her hometown paper, appearing in the Fairfield Recorder, Teague Chronicle and Corsicana Daily Sun.Immigration ReporterJulián Aguilar is an immigration reporter for the Houston Chronicle. An El Paso native, Aguilar’s journalism career began in 2007 at the Laredo Morning Times. He joined the Texas Tribune in 2009 and extensively reported on immigration, border security and the drug trade for the nonprofit news organization until 2021. His stories on immigration took him from El Paso to border towns in the Rio Grande Valley. Aguilar was part of a team of Tribune journalists who wrote a series of stories about “the reality and the rhetoric” about immigration in Texas. He journeyed by raft with smugglers who ferry people from Guatemala to Mexico, and rode with police officers patrolling the gang-controlled streets of El Salvador. After leaving the Tribune, Aguilar worked at KERA News from 2022 to 2024, then became a freelance reporter. He attended the University of Texas and earned his master's degree in journalism at the University of North Texas.