Washington, D.C.– For the past two years, Suzanne’s workday has meant flipping through picture books, tidying up her cubby, and leading classroom sing-alongs.

But her work as a preschool teacher came to an abrupt end in October when she found out her application to renew her work permit had been rejected.

Suzanne, who used a pseudonym in this article out of fear of reprisal, is one of nearly 10 percent of immigrant teachers in the United States.

Yet even as the U.S. increasingly looks overseas to fill teacher shortages, some foreign-born teachers say deportations under President Donald Trump have threatened their livelihoods and threaten to traumatize their students.

Susana, an asylum applicant who fled violence in Guatemala nearly a decade ago, said losing her license meant she had to stop working immediately.

She recalled breaking the news to her students, some of whom were as young as three. Many are too young to understand.

“Within a week, I lost everything,” Susana told Al Jazeera in Spanish. “When I said goodbye to the kids, they asked me why, and I told them, ‘I just have to say goodbye to you.'” It hurt my heart to have kids hug me. “

Looking for teachers abroad

Estimates of how many foreign-born teachers currently work in the United States vary. But a 2019 report from George Mason University found that of the country’s 8.1 million teachers, 857,200 were immigrants, with positions ranging from pre-K to college.

For the 2023-2024 school year only, the U.S. Government bring 6,716 full-time teachers are traveling to the country on temporary exchange visas to fill vacancies in pre-school, primary and secondary education.

Many come from the Philippines and countries such as Jamaica, Spain and Colombia.

However, the uncertainty surrounding immigration during Trump’s second term has proven damaging for schools that rely heavily on foreign-born teachers.

That’s the case at CommuniKids, the preschool where Suzanne works, which offers language immersion programs in Washington, DC.

Co-founder and President Raul Echevarría estimates that about 90% of CommuniKids employees are immigrants (including citizens and legally authorized non-citizens).

But Echevarria told Al Jazeera that efforts to dismantle legal immigration pathways have jeopardized the employment of several faculty members.

Five other teachers at the school found their ability to work affected by changes to the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program.

Echevarria explained that all five are from Venezuela. But last October, the Trump administration terminated TPS status for more than 350,000 Venezuelan citizens, including CommuniKids teachers.

Their authorization to work legally in the United States will expire on October 2, 2026, according to the USCIS website.

“These teachers have lost the ability to make a living,” Echevarría said, noting that his school needs educators with expertise in languages ​​such as Spanish, French and Mandarin.

‘strong bond’

For the school itself, the loss can be devastating. Every state in the U.S. reports teacher shortages to the federal government.

But advocates say the high stress and low wages of education make it difficult to recruit and retain teachers.

This has led some states to look abroad for educators. In North Carolina, for example, there are 1,063 foreign nationals working full-time as elementary school teachers on temporary J-1 visas during the 2023-2024 school year.

The top destinations for such recruitment are all Southern states: North Carolina, followed by Florida, with 996 teachers on J-1 visas, and Texas, with 761 teachers.

But Echevarría said the biggest impact of the deportations was felt by the students themselves.

“We have students who have developed strong bonds with their teachers and all of a sudden, overnight, they lose their teachers,” Echevarria said.

“Their number one superpower is their ability to empathize and form strong, effective connections with people from any background,” he added.

But when these bonds are broken, it can take a toll on mental health and lead to setbacks in educational achievement, especially for younger children.

A 2024 study released by the American Educational Research Association found that when teachers leave their jobs mid-year, children’s language development is significantly affected.

In other words, the loss of a familiar teacher—one who understands their routines, strengths, and fears—can quietly hinder a child’s progress. The consequences can affect a child’s sense of self and stability.

mental health consequences

For parents like Michelle Howell, whose children attend CommuniKids, the loss of teachers also leaves classroom environments fragile.

“The teachers there are not just teachers for these little kids,” Howell said of CommuniKids. “They’re like one big family.

“They hug them, they hold them, they do things parents would do. When these people disappear, it’s not just hard for the kids, it’s hard for everyone.”

Howell, who is Chinese-American, said the sudden disappearance reminded her of her family’s history.

“I had read about something similar happening in China, where my family left to seek safety,” she said. “It was very disturbing to know that what we were escaping was now our reality. People were disappearing.”

Maria C, a school psychologist who asked to remain anonymous to protect her work in the Texas public school system, noticed that the children she helped were struggling to cope with the instability caused by deportation.

She explains that the disappearance of a loved one or mentor, such as a favorite teacher, can flood a child’s body with cortisol, a hormone that protects them in times of danger.

But when this stress becomes chronic, those same hormones can start to do more harm than good. It interferes with memory, concentration, and emotional regulation.

“For some people, it looks like anxiety. For others, it’s depression or a flare-up,” Maria says. “They’re in fight-or-flight mode all day long.”

She added that selective mutism, an anxiety disorder, is increasing among children she sees ranging in age from 5 to 12.

“It used to be so rare that maybe every school would have a case,” she said. “I see it all the time now. It’s a quiet symptom of fear.”

Be prepared for the worst-case scenario

Back at CommuniKids, Echevarría explained that he and other staff members have made contingency plans in case immigration enforcement agents arrive at the kindergarten.

The goal, he said, is to make staff and students feel safer while in class.

“We put these steps in writing because we want our employees to know they are not alone,” he said. “We have attorneys on call. We are partners with local police. But most importantly, our job is to protect our children.”

But as an extra precaution, teachers are advised to carry their passport or work permit with them.

Even Echevarria, a U.S. citizen born in Virginia, said he carries his passport with him wherever he goes. The fear of deportation lingers.

“I’m bilingual and of Hispanic descent,” he said. “Given the current situation, I want to be able to prove that I am a citizen if anyone questions it.”