"Dee said kids in early grades were more likely to miss school than their older peers because those living with undocumented immigrants tend to be younger and families with small children might be more fearful of deportation.
Kathy Mulrooney, director of the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Strategy Program at ZERO TO THREE, said young children also suffer a particular cognitive trauma when the adults around them are detained.
'Even if babies don’t have the words for what’s happening, their bodies feel the fear,' she said.
When a parent is suddenly taken, Mulrooney said, or when a community is shaken by aggressive immigration tactics, students are left with little ability to feel the type of safety and curiosity they need to learn.
'Simply put, when a child’s brain is in survival mode, learning takes a back seat,' she said."
Jo Napolitano
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