Fact check: How many ICE raids have occurred at schools in the US since 2020?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the available analyses, there is no comprehensive data available on the total number of ICE raids at schools in the US since 2020. The sources reveal that schools are designated as "protected areas" or "sensitive locations" where immigration enforcement is generally restricted under federal policy ^{[1] [2]}. However, the analyses document at least two specific incidents of ICE arrests involving high school students:

• Marcelo Gomes da Silva, an 18-year-old student in Massachusetts, was arrested by ICE agents who were actually looking for his father ^{[3] [4] [5]}
• Dylan, a high school student in New York ^[3]

These arrests sparked significant protests and walkouts by classmates ^[5]. The sources emphasize that while schools have policies and guidance for responding to ICE presence, no source provides the specific numerical data requested about total raids since 2020 ^{[6] [7] [8]}.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question assumes that ICE raids at schools are occurring regularly enough to warrant counting, but the analyses reveal important missing context:

• Federal policy explicitly designates schools as protected areas where immigration enforcement requires special approval from agency headquarters ^{[1] [2]}
• School districts have developed "safe zone policies" specifically to protect immigrant students and provide guidance for responding to ICE presence ^[8]
• Legal protections exist - schools have specific rights regarding ICE access and are not required to grant entry without proper warrants ^{[6] [7]}
• Policy uncertainty exists - sources note that current protections may be subject to change under different administrations ^[2]

Educational advocacy organizations like the ACLU benefit from emphasizing school protections and student rights, while immigration enforcement agencies benefit from maintaining operational flexibility even in sensitive locations.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question contains an implicit assumption that may be misleading:

• The question presupposes that ICE raids at schools are common enough to count, when the evidence suggests they are actually quite rare due to federal policy restrictions ^{[1] [2]}
• The framing implies systematic targeting of schools, while the documented cases show ICE agents were pursuing other individuals (like Marcelo's father) rather than conducting school-focused operations ^[4]
• The question may conflate individual arrests with "raids" - the documented incidents appear to be targeted arrests rather than large-scale enforcement operations typically associated with the term "raid"

The lack of comprehensive data itself is significant - if ICE raids at schools were frequent, such statistics would likely be more readily available and tracked by advocacy organizations and government agencies.