New immigrant student enrollment plunges in California schools; LAUSD newcomers down 46.5%

As of 5:57 p.m. ET, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026

The number of newly arrived immigrant students in California schools has fallen sharply over the past two years, leading some districts to close programs and reassign staff, EdSource reported in a story published by the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday.

The decline in "newcomers," students in their first three years in the U.S., follows an abrupt drop in border crossings in early 2025 amid changes in federal immigration policy, according to EdSource reporter Zaidee Stavely.

Los Angeles and Oakland

Los Angeles Unified's newcomer count fell from 20,755 students in 2024-25 to 11,103 in 2026-27, EdSource reported. According to the district, overall enrollment fell 8.3% from fall 2025 to fall 2026, while newcomer enrollment fell 46.5%.

In Oakland Unified, more than 1,300 new students arrived from other countries each year from 2017-18 through 2024-25, except during the pandemic year of 2020-21. In 2025-26, 498 enrolled for their first year. As of Oct. 7 this school year, only 212 had, most of them in elementary school.

"We knew the numbers were going to be low. This is extremely low," said Nicole Knight, Oakland Unified's executive director of English language learner and multilingual achievement. The district now offers newcomer programs at six middle and high schools, down from 17 last year, and they mostly serve students in their second or third year.

With fewer newcomers, students are moving into mainstream classes sooner, Knight said. "That's a challenge for teachers who don't feel equipped" to teach students just beginning to learn English or who have missed months or years of school, she said. Because funding is tied to enrollment, the drop also means less money, and new arrivals had helped keep bilingual immersion classes full. "We're suffering from declining enrollment, and it does make visible how much newcomers were helping us stay afloat," Knight said.

Not every district

San Juan Unified, near Sacramento, reported a smaller decline of about 13.6%, from 974 newcomer students in 2025-26 to 842 this year. District spokesperson Raj Rai said many of its families arrived as refugees or through the Special Immigrant Visa program for Afghans who worked with the U.S. government, rather than by crossing the border, and that some newcomer families have moved there from other states. "Newcomer programs and support services have not been impacted," Rai said.

Statewide

Statewide newcomer figures for 2026-27 are not yet available. Enrollment fell from a record 236,958 in 2024-25 to 228,780 in 2025-26, EdSource reported. Most of those students probably arrived before the Trump administration's policy changes, and the count is expected to fall much further as they pass their third year.

"We're about to reach a cliff where we'll have had a couple years without significant entries," said Sam Finn, executive director of the California Newcomer Network. Knight said program leaders are trying to preserve curriculum and expertise in case arrivals rise again.

GROKsiNEWS.com has not reviewed the districts' or state's underlying enrollment data. The figures here are as reported by EdSource from the districts.