Sarah Hayde Andrews was excited when Tierra Encantada opened its doors in Overland Park in January. In fact, she was among the first parents to enroll her toddler in the new preschool, which promises “100% Spanish immersion.”
“I really loved the concept,” Andrews said. “I feel that’s going to be so useful. It’s a major language in our country. It would help her throughout her life.”
Tierra Encantada has schools in five states, with a Missouri location slated to open in Kansas City’s Brookside neighborhood in 2026.
“As the Leader in Spanish Immersion Early Education, our high-quality bilingual education program fosters early cognitive development and teaches a respect for diversity,” reads a message on the company’s website.
On July 2, the Minnesota-based company emailed parents around the country to tell them a change in federal policy was impacting its workforce. Specifically, the email said, the end of the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan parolee immigration program would affect employees at branches across the country. The CHNV, canceled by the Trump administration, allowed people from the countries named to legally live and work in the U.S. for up to two years.
The email, reviewed by The Midwest Newsroom, reads in part:
“Some of our incredible team members, the individuals who have cared for, taught, and loved your children, have been directly affected by these policy shifts. Despite our best efforts to support and guide them through this uncertainty, a handful of these valued colleagues — approximately 4% of our employee base — are no longer able to continue working at our centers starting next week.”
In response to an interview request from The Midwest Newsroom about the Overland Park school, the Tierra Encantada marketing team said in an email, “We did have a couple of employee departures recently,” and CEO Kristen Denzer acknowledged by email that staff members at the Overland Park branch were among the teachers impacted.
Denzer also said her employees’ visas were immediately revoked.
“These were staff who were part of the fabric of our classrooms and community, educators who provided care, stability, and warmth to children every day,” Denzer wrote. “Many still had active work authorization, in some cases with months or even over a year left, yet were forced not only to leave their jobs, but to begin preparing to leave the country they’ve been building a life in.”
"When policies limit the ability of immigrants to live and work in our communities, we lose something as a society. We lose talent, perspective, and care. We lose the chance to give children the best possible start in life."Kristen Denzer, Tierra Encantada CEO
Begun under the Biden administration in 2022, CHNV allowed 30,000 people per month from the four countries to enter the U.S. Officials said the program would cut down on illegal border crossings by providing legal pathways to the country for people living in countries with political, social or economic instability. Program parolees underwent background checks and had to secure a U.S. sponsor.
To date, more than 500,000 people have been admitted to the U.S. via the CHNV program.
A June 12 message from DHS urged CHNV parolees to “self-deport,” and included a quote from Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin which reads, in part:
“The Biden Administration lied to America. They allowed more than half a million poorly vetted aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members to enter the United States through these disastrous parole programs.”
In late May, the Supreme Court granted the administration’s emergency request to lift an injunction protecting the CHNV immigrants from being deported. Trump officials said they should leave immediately.
If people like the Tierra Encantada teachers decide not to heed the administration’s directive, they might share the fates of other people without legal status: arrest and deportation.
There are an estimated 11 million people without legal documentation living in the country.
When ICE arrives
A normal lunch hour at two Kansas City area El Toro Loco Mexican Bar & Grill locations took a sudden turn on July 30. As workers served customers at around 11 a.m., ICE and Homeland Security Investigations agents entered both restaurants and detained 12 employees. The next day, three of the employees were released from custody.
The status of the workers detained at two Kansas City area El Toro Loco Mexican Bar & Grill locations in late July is not known.
The raids were barely over when representatives from Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, or AIRR, arrived at one of the restaurants.
“There was no one there,” said Trinidad Raj Molina, AIRR’s campaign organizer, a few days after the raids. “It was a really creepy scene. They left the doors unlocked. Left someone’s purse there. They left stove burners on, still releasing gas.”
AIRR’s website says it “organizes and activates immigrants in Kansas and Missouri to advocate for their rights and well-being.”
Among other resources, the organization provides training about immigrant policies and the constitutional amendments that protect everyone — regardless of immigration status.
Molina said demand from businesses and other organizations is increasing.
“We probably have done more training in the past six months than we normally would do in like a two- or three-year period,” he said.
AIRR brings its training to the people who request it, whether in a business setting or a church basement.
“The key is knowing rights: The First, Fourth and Fifth amendments in particular, and then being able to have a community connection for people looking out for each other to uphold those rights,” Molina said.
In particular, said one expert, the Fourth Amendment provides some protection.
“You cannot violate the Fourth Amendment, which forbids government agencies to enter a home unless they have a warrant. Even if you’re arrested, you can go to federal district court asking for release,” Muzaffar Chishti, an attorney and senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, told The Midwest Newsroom in a wide-ranging interview about the Trump administration’s deportation policies in early 2025.
'It’s a wipeout'
When it comes to getting raided by ICE or HSI, many business owners believe “it won’t happen to them,” Molina said.
On June 10, it happened to Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha. ICE agents raided the meat processing plant, taking away 107 workers who they said were undocumented immigrants using false identification.
In an interview with The New York Times, the owner of the company expressed bewilderment, because Glenn Valley Foods used a federal online system called E-Verify to check whether employees were eligible to work. Glenn Valley Foods itself had not been accused of any violations.
According to the article, production dropped by almost 70% in the weeks after the raid.
“It’s a wipeout,” said Gary Rohwer, the owner. “We’re building back up from ground zero.”
While Rohwer was surprised by the ICE raids, Chishti said such tactics were to be expected. On the campaign trail, candidate Donald Trump promised mass deportations starting on “day one.”
“It’s shock and awe,” Chishti said. “This is a good part of the goal of this administration and, frankly, even why Trump won. He came with a promise that he was going to end the invasion and mass deport people.”
As of mid-July, about 80 former employees of Glenn Valley Foods were still in detention, according to Nebraska Public Media News.
Attorneys for the Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement, an organization offering legal assistance to those detained in the Omaha raid, said some people signed self-deportation orders without speaking with a lawyer.
'Like a sponge'
In her email to The Midwest Newsroom, Kristen Denzer, Tierra Encantada’s CEO, said the Trump immigration policies will not impact the company’s ability to grow.
“We remain confident in the strength of our model and the continued demand for Spanish immersion early education,” Denzer wrote. “We will continue expanding to serve more families who value bilingualism and quality early childhood education."
And Sarah Hayde Anderson, the Tierra Encantada mother, remains excited about her daughter’s progress learning Spanish.
“What color is this?” she quizzed her daughter, pointing to the yellow nail polish she was applying to the two-and-a-half year-old’s fingernails.
“Amarillo,” the little girl said, using the correct Spanish word.
“I was so excited,” Hayde Anderson said. “Her little brain is like a sponge.”
The Midwest Newsroom is an investigative and enterprise journalism collaboration that includes Iowa Public Radio, KCUR, Nebraska Public Media, St. Louis Public Radio and NPR.
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METHODOLOGY
Holly Edgell interviewed a woman with a child at Tierra Encantada in Overland Park. She reviewed social media posts that share reactions from other parents about the departure of the teachers. Edgell requested an interview with a representative of Tierra Encantada, and received email responses from the company’s marketing team and CEO Kristen Denzer. Edgell interviewed an immigration law and policy expert to provide insight into the Trump administration’s policies and consulted Department of Homeland Security communications for specific information about the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan parolee immigration program. She also consulted other media reports about the program.
REFERENCES
Trump strips Biden-era Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans of humanitarian parole (The Miami Herald | March 25, 2025)
DHS Issues Notices of Termination for the CHNV Parole Program, Encourages Parolees to Self-Deport Immediately (U.S. Department of Homeland Security | June 12, 2025)
Several Tierra Encantada employees impacted after CHNV immigration changes (KTTC-TV | July 8, 2025)
Many remain detained following Omaha ICE raid (Nebraska Public Media News | July 11, 2025)
ICE Took Half Their Work Force. What Do They Do Now? (The New York Times | July 27, 2025)
What we know about unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. (Pew Research Center)
TYPE OF ARTICLE
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
