CMS saw over 21,000 student absences every day after Border Patrol arrests started
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- CMS daily absences spiked to about 30,000 as Border Patrol conducted local raids.
- District leaders and students reported fear, protests and parent watch efforts at schools.
- DHS arrested over 370 people; officials withheld many identities and operation details.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools saw thousands more absences than usual every day last week, as federal border patrol swept through the city during “Operation Charlotte’s Web.”
Federal agents arrested more than 370 people in Charlotte between Nov. 15 and Nov. 20, the Department of Homeland Security reported Thursday. DHS has so far declined to provide many details, and would not release the names or information on most of the people arrested or taken.
Local officials announced Thursday that the Border Patrol operation had concluded, but U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin later said agents were not finished.
Prior to operations beginning Nov. 15, advocates and educators warned the city would see increased school absences, with families scared to leave their homes and potentially encounter Border Patrol while bringing their children to school.
“Kids shouldn’t have to grow up in this world where they are scared at home and scared at school, and it’s terrifying for a lot of families,” Daniela Andrade, communications lead for Carolina Migrant Network told The Charlotte Observer Nov. 14. “We know that there are going to be many families that don’t send their kids to school for weeks or for days.”
On Monday, district records show more than 30,000 students were recorded as absent – the highest number throughout the entire week.
Not all of those absences can be attributed to immigration enforcement fears. CMS typically sees between 10,000 and 15,000 students recorded absent on a typical school day. On Nov. 10, a week before the Border Patrol operation began in the city, the district recorded about 12,900 absences.
Absence totals reflect all enrolled students who did not attend school on a particular day, though that includes students who are technically still enrolled but do not consistently attend CMS. That could include students who may have transferred to another district or school but who remain listed as inactive until fully enrolled elsewhere.
For example, CMS had 145,030 students enrolled Monday, but 141,684 students who are enrolled and consistently attend school in the district. Of those, 114,631 attended school on Monday.
While some students returned Tuesday, the district still saw around 25,700 recorded absences. On Wednesday, around 27,200 students were marked absent.
Thursday saw the smallest number of student absences of the week, with about 21,800 children marked absent. On Friday, the total rose to 24,000.
‘Quiet tension’
Lucy Silverstein, a senior at Providence High School and student advisor to the CMS Board of Education, said Tuesday “the impact on students was immediate.”
She described a “quiet tension” that permeated the halls of her high school in south Charlotte.
“What I’m hearing directly from students is they’re scared,” Silverstein told the board at its meeting Tuesday night. “The question students keep asking is simple: how do they know they’re safe?... How do we make them feel steady when everything outside is unpredictable?”
Quint Ulchar, a junior at East Mecklenburg High School, said the effect also was noticeable on his campus.
“There have been students that have stayed home and people that I haven’t seen in a couple of days because they’ve stayed home,” Ulchar told The Observer.
Students at high schools around the city organized walkouts in protest of immigration enforcement activity last week, including at East Mecklenburg. Ulchar said students continued to carry signs they made for the protest to classes throughout the week. They planned “silent protests” such as wearing a certain color on a particular day to show solidarity with the immigrant community.
“There’s definitely been more of an advocacy feel on campus,” Ulchar said. “Even though we’re high school students, we can still make a difference.”
Parents around Charlotte have also taken action. Many stood watch at their schools during pick-up and drop-off last week, aiming to deter immigration enforcement activity near school campuses and make sure students made it safely to and from the building.
“Part of the reason we value the school is because it’s got kids from lots of different backgrounds who are a part of this community,” Patricia Hoke, a parent at Shamrock Gardens Elementary School in east Charlotte told The Observer. Hoke stood outside the school at pick-up time Nov. 17 with a sign reading “NO ICE.”
“There is some sense of responsibility that even though they may not be the kids that live in our house, they’re still our kids,” Hoke said.
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 12:13 PM.
