A Maine family was detained by federal immigration agents at the Canadian border last week, leaving empty seats at two Portland high schools.

Two Portland Public School high schoolers, who attend Casco Bay and Deering high schools, were detained with their family in Vermont and transferred to Texas, Superintendent Ryan Scallon told families Friday.

“To have students in class one week and then suddenly gone the next is traumatic. And to know that two young people are in a detention center when they could be in school is deeply upsetting,” the district said in a statement. “The Portland Public Schools remains committed to serving all students, irrespective of immigration status, and we will not change.”

The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection did not return a

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