Transformative intellectuals in the Trump era: New York City social studies teachers’ decision-making about teaching immigration in transnational classrooms

Teaching immigration requires social studies teachers to navigate the tensions between political controversy, curricular responsibility, and students’ lived experiences. Drawing on Henry Giroux’s concept of teachers as transformative intellectuals, this multiple-case study examines the curricular and pedagogical decision-making of three New York City teachers working with transnational youth during the Trump era. Through interactive interviews and cross-case analysis, we observed how the teachers embody and extend Giroux’s framework. They navigated political disclosure, used analogies as protective pedagogical strategies, and engaged in emotional negotiation both inside and beyond the classroom. Their decision-making reflected a commitment to framing immigration not as a partisan controversy but as a human-centred, identity-relevant issue. Supportive institutional ecosystems further enabled them to take pedagogical risks and sustain justice-oriented approaches. The study contributes to social studies education research on teacher decision-making and controversial issues, highlighting the importance of pedagogies that continually affirm students’ humanity in fraught sociopolitical landscapes.