Headline Roundup • November 20th, 2025
North Carolina Schools Report Excessive Student Absences as ICE Raids Continue
Summary from the AllSides News Team
In light of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) “Charlotte’s Web” operation in North Carolina, local schools have reported excessive student absences.
The Details: CNN (Lean Left bias) reported that over 30,000 students (about 20%) were absent on Monday in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District. Local outlet WBTV reported that 31% of the district’s students are Hispanic. NewsNation (Center) reported that on Tuesday, 45,000 students were absent “in and around Charlotte and Raleigh.” At East Mecklenburg High School, where about 40% of students are Hispanic, there were 653 absences on Monday, which is reportedly double the number from the previous week.
For Context: The operation, which is now in its sixth day, has led to over 250 arrests so far and spurred several protests. Recent data from KFF and the Urban Institute found that approximately 17% of American children live with at least one noncitizen adult.
How The Media Covered It: The absences were covered widely by local outlets earlier in the week and later by some national outlets. NewsNation framed the news through the perspectives of a teacher and parent who said the raids were negatively affecting students’ educations. CNN highlighted acts of protest from people opposed to the raids, such as a highly attended church event that aimed to “help immigrants safely get to school and work and guard against constitutional violations during immigration enforcement activities.” Fox News (Right) highlighted a school district that issued a memo to families about “supporting student absences” in light of the raids.
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission.
Featured Coverage of this Story
The pews of the Charlotte church were packed as onlookers watched a man restrain a woman while a group in bright vests furiously blew their whistles and filmed the interaction, chanting, “La migra esta aqui.”
Another group loudly sang, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”
Clapping then erupted from the crowd.
John Moore/Getty Images
Border Patrol raids in North Carolina aren’t just sweeping up adults; they’re emptying classrooms and threatening school funding as the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement push continues.
The so-called “Operation Charlotte’s Web” is now in its sixth day, and schools in and around Charlotte and Raleigh reported more than 45,000 absences on Tuesday alone, as raids rattle communities and families fear sending their children to school.
North Carolina's largest school district released a notice on Tuesday to help support student absences in light of recent immigration raids in the state.
Wake County Public Schools Superintendent Robert P. Taylor wrote a message titled, "Supporting staff and families amid recent federal immigration orders," to address the "anxiety" felt by members of the community over federal immigration orders.
At the bottom of the message was a section on "supporting student absences" during the "challenging times." North Carolina's capital city of Raleigh is Wake's county seat.
