Maryland saw a precipitous drop in the number of Hispanic students graduating from high school in 2025, a result, state officials say, of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants.

State education officials have anecdotal evidence that Trump’s policies and deportations have played a role in a 4.4% drop in the Hispanic graduation rate and a 5.5% drop for English learners. Last week, superintendents met with ICE officials about their concerns.

“These significant declines are notable. Heightened political tensions and fear around immigration enforcement erode students’ sense of safety and belonging, disrupting learning and pathways to graduation,” Maryland Board of Education President Josh Michael said.

Graduation rates for Hispanic and English learners had increased in recent years, but are now back at pandemic levels. In the Baltimore region, Howard County saw particularly steep declines in graduation rates for those groups.

“We don’t quite know everything that’s going on or why,” Michael said. “I’ve never seen a drop or a gain that significant year over year in a relatively large subgroup at the state level. ... It raises significant alarm bells when you see that much movement year over year.”

State Superintendent Carey Wright said Hispanic students represent a significant group — 24% — of Maryland’s public school enrollment.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made over 700 arrests in Maryland between Sept. 1 and Oct. 15. September was the state’s busiest month of enforcement in Trump’s second term, while October was trending close behind, according to the most recent data.

The Trump administration has said it is arresting and deporting citizens with criminal records to keep the country safer; however, the majority of people deported in Maryland do not have criminal records, according to a Banner analysis of newly released federal data.

Dayana Bergman, a Carroll County resident who is running for state delegate in District 5 and who testified before the board on Wednesday, said immigrant parents “no longer trust sending our kids to school.”

She urged state education officials to “take a unified stand on prioritizing safety of our children and educators.” She wants the state to ensure ICE is kept out of schools, unable to access student data, and require anyone entering school buildings to unmask.

Maryland’s overall graduation rate went from 87.6% in 2024 to 86.4% in 2025, even as the number of graduating seniors rose significantly to 72,702.

But beneath the poor results were some encouraging increases for nearly every other special group. Graduation rates for Black, special needs and economically disadvantaged students, groups that historically have had lower rates, grew.

“This is the first group of students that had all four years of uninterrupted schooling from COVID. So this group didn’t have any hybrid instruction” in high school, Assistant State Superintendent Tim Guy said.

Wright said Nikita Baker, ICE’s Maryland’s interim field office director, met with superintendents last week to discuss the situation. Wright said ICE officials said they would not enter public school buildings and that they would stop using areas around schools as staging grounds for raids.

She said the meeting was not contentious.

Baker’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“What I can tell you is that our educators on the ground are working tireless, tirelessly to partner with families,” Michael said. “They are thinking creatively. They are wrapping their arms around our young people.” Wright, Michael said, has encouraged educators to support students and work with their families to keep them safe.

Some districts saw encouraging results.

Overall graduation rates at Anne Arundel County Public Schools rose for the second consecutive year, to 89%. Eleven of its 16 comprehensive high schools had rates over 90%.

Glen Burnie High School’s graduation rate jumped by 6.58 points, pushing the school’s overall rate to 91.5%. Other notable school gains were seen at Southern High School (3.41 points), Northeast High School (2.06 points), Broadneck High School (1.61 points) and Crofton High School (1.58 points).

Baltimore City’s graduation rate is the highest it has been in six years, with Black students showing a significant jump of 3 percentage points and outperforming the rest of the district. Drops in graduation rates for Hispanic and English learners were in line with the state declines.

Baltimore County saw a decline in its graduation rate to 84%, driven in part by a 6 percentage point decline for Hispanic students. The graduation rate for Black students was 87% and for 89% for white students.

Howard County may have seen one of the worst graduation rate declines in the region in its immigrant population. Hispanic students’ graduation rates declined by 8 percentage points and English learners’s by 14 percentage points. Overall, the county’s rate declined to 91%.

Montgomery County’s graduation rate declined, also driven by steep drops in the immigrant populations.

This story will be updated.

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.