When driving toward Mi Escuelita Child Care in Silver Spring, it may not be obvious that there’s a bilingual day care and preschool in the neighborhood.

That’s because owner Anabela Rodas doesn’t have a sign for her business. And ever since President Donald Trump’s administration rescinded a longstanding policy that kept immigration enforcement activity from taking place at “sensitive” locations, including day cares like her “little school,” she thinks others should follow suit.

“I don’t have any way for people to know that I have a child care [business] in my house,” said Rodas, who is president of the Latino Child Care Association of Maryland. “I’m recommending that to my members. Like if you have signs that say ‘child care,’ you might want to remove those and mark [advertise] on the Internet or something like that.”

The policy reversal and increased immigration crackdowns have left early-childhood educators feeling uncertain and afraid. Though they’re not covered by blanket state guidance for schools, advocates have encouraged child care providers to learn their rights and get families prepared for the worst. And day care owners say they’re ready to protect their students and families.

Some are worried that even just the increased fear will hurt kids in their most critical years of brain development.

“Living in fear that their parents might leave, they might never see them again, it’s incredibly traumatic,” said Atenas Burrola Estrada with the DMV-based Amica Center for Immigrant Rights. “We are traumatizing a generation of children by creating this atmosphere where they don’t feel safe.”

Fear of the unknown

Rodas, who is Bolivian and Argentinian, said she fears the kids she cares for and staff she works with could be at risk just for looking Hispanic, like her. Native Americans and other U.S. citizens in other parts of the country have reported being questioned by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raising alarms about potential racial profiling.

The fears have led some in the Latino community to restrict their outings, especially in big public places, Rodas said.

They’ve been advised by immigrant advocacy organizations to go straight home after work and stay there. If they need to go to the grocery store, they’re being told to stick to the big names rather than smaller Latino markets, which carry products that remind them of home but could get targeted.

Fears stoked by the potential for more ICE presence can also prevent families from sending their kids to day care at all or seeking help. Carolina Reyes, owner and director of Arco Iris Bilingual Children’s Center in Laurel, has been collecting diapers, wipes and food for those who don’t feel comfortable going to churches, which are also no longer protected spaces.

“As an immigrant myself and as a Latina, I feel that I need to do something in particular for my family and my children,” said Reyes, who is also the advocacy chair for the Maryland State Child Care Association. “If they take one of my children’s parents, what is going to happen? What is going to happen to that child I’m caring for that day?”

Advocates urge knowing your rights

Guidance released by the state’s education department on how school systems should deal with ICE doesn’t mention Maryland’s day cares and nonpublic pre-Ks. Those early-learning programs, though licensed by the state, are privately operated and sprawling. They often lack the formal infrastructure, financing and legal might of school systems.

And the U.S. Supreme Court decision that guarantees a right to a public education to students regardless of immigration status does not extend to day care.

Still, child care program operators have rights, starting at their doors, Burrola Estrada said.

ICE can only enter closed establishments with a judicial warrant signed by a judge, Burrola Estrada said. So staff should keep their doors closed and know who’s allowed in. Nobody is obligated to answer questions about themselves or the kids in their care when it comes to immigration status. And day cares should not be keeping records of that, either, she added.

Reyes has been talking to her teachers and trying to keep her families informed. She sent information on printable “Red Cards,” which include rights for immigrants under the U.S. Constitution, to early childhood organizations across the state. There’s also know-your-rights guidance from the Center for Law and Social Policy.

Maryland Del. Jared Solomon, one of the lead sponsors of an emergency bill that would mandate clear legal guidance for how to deal with ICE in formerly protected spaces, said child care will be covered in the bill.

An emergency plan for families

Burrola Estrada said families should plan well in advance: If a parent gets detained or deported by ICE, they should have already identified an adult who can pick their child up from day care and access their information and medicine. This form allows parents to pick out “standby guardians.”

“What we have seen in prior administrations when there are raids is that there’s no plan in place and a student ends up going into state custody,” Burrola Estrada said. “It’s better to have this really tough conversation and not need what you’re preparing than to need it and not have it.”

Rodas said parents at her school have offered to keep other children safe. And at least one family asked her if she would be their emergency plan should something happen.

She said yes.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.