Law enforcement officers guard outside an ICE processing facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview on Nov. 21, 2025. | Nam Y. Huh, AP
Published on February 6, 2026 at 3:40 pm
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A Jacksonville parents group says at least 40 children are missing from Duval Schools’ attendance rolls because of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the county.
The parents are calling attention to what they say is a more significant problem than residents may realize.
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At a School Board meeting Tuesday, parent Kris Kiernan addressed the board during a public comment period, saying some parents are afraid to send their children to school because they fear being detained by ICE and leaving their kids without a caretaker.
“If you want our kids to go to school, take the fear away,” Kiernan said.
Toward the end of the meeting, Vice Chair April Carney, whose district includes the Beaches and Mayport, said Kiernan’s claim was untrue and was “scaring the community.”
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“That’s inciting fear by saying that ICE is coming into our schools, and they are not,” Carney said. Speakers should “please, please, please fact check” before speaking, she said. “We want our students to know that when they walk in the building, they’re in a safe space.”
READ MORE: ICE action sparks tension in Jacksonville
Carney then asked Superintendent Christopher Bernier to comment.
“We have not had ICE agents reporting to our schools, removing students,” he said.
But Bernier said the district has dealt with parents being “arrested outside of school,” while children were at school.
Bernier didn’t specify how the district knew that a parent’s absence was the result of an ICE incident. A district spokesperson didn’t respond before this story’s publication.
“We’ve had to work to find children the appropriate care and individuals from their emergency contact plan,” Bernier said. “We’ve had to do that a couple of times this year.”
Kiernan spoke with Jacksonville Today on Friday. She said she has personally witnessed ICE activity near schools.
She’s part of a network of moms who help get kids to school when their parents are worried about being detained. They’re also helping to collect food and clothes for affected families.
Volunteers say they have seen law enforcement agents wearing clothing labeled “POLICE” step out of unmarked SUVs. They say they’ve also noticed more officers from the Florida Highway Patrol and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office near schools and bus stops.
Kiernan says the number of missing students she cited on Tuesday is accurate — both because some detained parents have asked for their children to be deported together with them and because some children are not attending school because of ICE’s presence.
