Illegal Immigration Impact on Florida Keys Schools

By: Staff Writer

May 11, 2026

Illegal Immigration Impact on Florida Keys Schools

ICE remains active in Key West and deportations of illegal immigrants has remained steady, especially when the Key West City Commission unanimously voted to support 287g agreements with ICE. Key West joined all of the other 66 counties in Florida which have similar agreements with ICE. Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from various countries is being revoked by the Trump Administration, citing stabilization in native countries. Some countries had TPS for natural disasters that happened decades ago. Several community members with TPS in Key West have been impacted, and it's expected for deportations to continue. The Monroe County School system absorbed an increase in immigrants students which started during the Biden Administration and the push for an open border.

Local activist groups have attempted to interfere with enforcement efforts, including creating a hotline to report ICE locations so undocumented individuals could avoid contact with officers. Those efforts have not stopped ongoing operations. With Temporary Protected Status for Haitians ending in February 2026, but still being litigated, the impact will be felt most sharply by some immigrant families, local employers, and the Monroe County School System.

For the 2025–2026 school year, Monroe County Schools report a total enrollment of 8,608 students. Of that number, 18.1% are immigrant English Language Learners (ELL), totaling 1,560 students who could be affected if they lack legal status or lose TPS protections.

According to Florida Department of Education data, Monroe County’s ELL population increased by 531 students between 2021 and 2025. During that period, the percentage of ELL students rose from 12% to 18%. As of Fall 2025, the district’s enrollment stands at 8,608 students, including 1,560 ELL students.

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Schools are prohibited from asking about a student’s immigration status during registration, but they do administer language assessments to determine ELL placement. With a per‑pupil expenditure of $17,000—as reported by the Florida Department of Education—the potential financial impact is significant. If all 1,560 ELL students were to face deportations, the district could face an estimated $26.5 million reduction in funding. Even if only half were deported, the loss would still total approximately $13 million. A funding reduction of that scale would almost certainly require staffing cuts and other adjustments across the district.

Key West’s Foreign‑Born Population and the Potential Impact of Deportations

According to the most recent American Community Survey (ACS) 5‑year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Key West has an estimated population of about 25,800 residents. The data shows that 88.4% of residents are U.S. citizens, while 11.6% are non‑citizens.

The ACS also reports that 21.6% of Key West’s population is foreign‑born, a category that includes both naturalized U.S. citizens and non‑citizens. Because Key West is a small city, the Census Bureau relies on multi‑year ACS estimates rather than single‑year counts, meaning these numbers should be understood as well‑vetted estimates rather than exact totals. Even so, they remain the most reliable snapshot of the city’s current demographic makeup.

Based on these estimates, 11.6% of the population equals approximately 2,992 foreign‑born residents in Key West. Their legal status is not known. Most are presumably naturalized U.S. citizens. If only a small percentage lack legal status, the number of residents potentially subject to deportation is well below 3,000—likely only a few hundred.

A population shift of that size is not statistically significant enough to create long‑term negative effects on Key West’s tourism workforce, school funding, or housing prices. The only impact that cannot be measured is the emotional one—felt differently across the community—shaped by both the positive and negative experiences associated with immigration.

National Immigration Data and Trends

It remains unclear exactly how deportations will affect Key West’s housing market or local businesses. Some employers may see more job openings, and some rental units may become available, depending on how many immigrants are removed from the area.

For historical context, federal deportation numbers have been high under multiple administrations. From 2009 to 2017, the Obama administration deported an estimated 5 million people, a record that led some critics to label him the “Deporter in Chief.” Before that, the Bush administration deported approximately 10 million, and the Clinton administration deported the most, with an estimated 12 million.

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As shown in the chart above, Democratic presidents have historically overseen higher total deportation numbers than Republican presidents. Despite these removals, the tourism industry in the Florida Keys remained strong during all three presidencies.

DHS press releases and reports indicate that hundreds of thousands of people have been deported since President Trump took office on January 20, 2025. One DHS release on December 10, 2025 cited approximately 605,000 deportations. Even with the negative attention surrounding current enforcement efforts, President Trump has deported fewer immigrants than the previous four presidents—even when including the 2 million self‑deportations DHS estimated for 2025. The impact to Monroe County Schools could be significant if deportations continue even at Trump's low deportation rate.

The Monroe County School District cannot ask about a student’s immigration status, but ELL testing provides a clear picture of how many children could be affected. With per‑pupil spending at $17,000, the potential loss of up to 1,560 students represents an estimated $26.5 million in funding. Even a partial decline—roughly half that number—would still mean a $13 million shortfall, a reduction significant enough to force staffing cuts and broad operational adjustments across Monroe County Schools.