The Minnesota Lawsuit Against ICE, Part 1: The Incidents

“For me and for public schools here in Minnesota, this isn’t about being Democrat or Republican. This is about the ability of our children to attend federally required school in a safe and productive way…”  – Dr. Brenda Lewis, Superintendent, Fridley Public Schools, quoted in The Preamble.*

On February 4, 2026, two school districts and Education Minnesota, Minnesota’s largest teachers’ union, filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection and their respective leaders to protect public schools from ICE activities. The lawsuit is seeking to bar immigration enforcement activities within 1,000 feet of public school buildings – roughly 5 city blocks. The reasons behind the lawsuit are both unprecedented and disturbing.

ICE agents at the scene of Rene Good’s shooting. This location is just blocks from several schools.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area has been the focus of intense immigration enforcement activities in recent weeks. Dubbed “Operation Metro Surge” by the Department of Homeland Security, these activities have been characterized by the deployment of 3,000 ICE and border patrol agents**  and have led to violent confrontations with protestors and the deaths of two people. But it has also led to multiple traumatic incidents playing out in front of schoolchildren. This is a huge change in how ICE is allowed to function. In 1993, the federal government established a policy that required immigration agents to minimize the impact of their actions on “sensitive areas” that included schools, hospitals, and houses of worship. The policy was reaffirmed and expanded in 2011. Under these policies, DHS was required to request exceptions to the policy in writing unless exceptional circumstances arose, such as imminent danger to civilians. Congress created some accountability and oversight protocols by requiring  DHS to submit public reports on enforcement actions in those protected areas.  On the first day of Donald Trump’s second term, DHS rescinded this “sensitive areas” policy.  It is now acceptable for ICE and border patrol agents to target schools and school children for enforcement activities and this change has profoundly affected everyone in those spaces.

Endangering Children

5 year old Liam Ramos and his father, Adrian

DHS says that the decision to rescind the policy on sensitive areas was to “ensure students and school communities are safe from criminal activity.” A brief rundown of some incidents that have occurred in Minnesota specifically and in other places in the U.S. demonstrates that the policy change has produced less safety, not more, and the majority – nearly all – of the arrests are of parents and children who have committed no crimes.  Incidents include but are not limited to the following:

• Columbia Heights school district reported seven ICE vehicles loitering in the student and staff parking lots before school in early February.
• Seven Columbia Heights students ages 5-17 have been detained by ICE, a number the district updated February 4, 2026, when a pair of elementary-school brothers freed from custody reported they had spotted a missing classmate in the Dilley Immigration Processing Center. This number includes 5-year old Liam Ramos, who was detained and used as bait to lure his father out of the home so he could also be arrested. At least 23 parents from that same school have also been detained. Liam and his father have since been released by court order.
• In late January, MPR reported that staff from a Columbia Heights elementary school were required to bring two students, a 2^nd and 5^th grader, to the detention center where their mother had been taken earlier that day. Although the staff members brought paperwork to show that the family was in the U.S. legally, the detention center would not release them. Staff reported that the boys cried when they were told what was happening and were frightened and asked to hold the school nurse’s hand when they walked into the detention center.
• A paraprofessional in a St. Paul suburb was arrested by ICE agents in her school’s parking lot. This was a special education school and the paraprofessional was a U.S. citizen. Witnesses said ICE agents rammed her vehicle when she refused to stop honking at them.
• ICE agents have pulled over school district vans from multiple districts while on their way to school, including when students were on board. Other districts have reported Ice vehicles along school bus routes.
• Minneapolis Public Schools, MN: On January 7, hours after Renee Good was killed by ICE agents a few blocks away, armed border patrol agents arrived during dismissal at Roosevelt High School, tackled people on school grounds, handcuffed two staff members, and appeared to deploy a chemical agent against students. A Fox News outlet captured video of that incident. The district canceled classes for the rest of the week.
• The shooting of Renee Good occurred just blocks from several elementary, middle, and high school campuses, including the one where Good’s child was a student.
• The superintendent of Fridley Public Schools (MN) reported multiple incidents with ICE that included ICE agents following the superintendent and board members repeatedly as they traveled to and from school, sometimes with their children in their cars; ICE agents yelling at, photographing, and videoing district principals; four ICE agents sitting outside a board member’s home; and six ICE vehicles patrolling repeatedly up and down the street outside of one of the elementary schools.  All the principals, the superintendent, and the board members are citizens of the U.S. and the all but two are White. Administrators believe the harassment is retaliation for speaking out against ICE activities in the district.
• Crystal, MN: A parent was arrested by ICE on January 14 while waiting with their child at a school bus stop.
• In late January, a South Minneapolis parent reported tear gas deployment by ICE a block and a half from her child’s school during dismissal. That school has not had recess since December, when Operation Metro Surge began, because it’s not safe for the children to be outside.
• ICE agents appear to be primarily targeting Latinos. Racial profiling has led to the detention of people that they think “look” Latino, including Native Americans. The irony of that is hard to miss.  A Michigan teacher shared how a 7^th grade Native American student didn’t show up to school for three weeks because his mother was afraid he might be mistakenly detained by ICE.
• In October, ICE deployed tear gas near a Chicago (IL) elementary school during recess. One week later, two women were dragged out of their car by ICE in front of a Chicago school building.
• In February, Arizona State Rep. Lydia Hernandez was dropping her grandson off at a Phoenix elementary school when she witnessed a woman standing outside of one of three black, unmarked vehicles in front of the school, crying out that her husband and father had just been taken by ICE. The incident occurred during student drop-off. Hernandez noted that  “children and families began their day absorbing fear, confusion, and trauma in a space that should be safe.”
• A high school principal from Massachusetts reported ICE agents using intimidation tactics around the school and students staying home out of fear.
• A high school principal in New York noted that “Immigrant students…and their families live in a culture of fear. [Several] students and their families received email notice from DHS indicating that they had 15 days to self-deport because they were from XXX and their [legal] visa was discontinued without cause. These were hardworking, contributing members of our community.”

I could go on, but I won’t. In the next post, we’re going to look at the results of this kind of activity for kids and staff alike.

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*The Preamble is a newsletter from Sharon McMahon. Dubbed ‘America’s Government Teacher’ by the media, her goal is to educate people on democracy, civil discourse, and critical principles like the Rule of Law. She is a bestselling author and podcaster and so famously non-partisan that she is frequently criticized by both conservatives and liberals.

**A number that Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN) noted was larger than the combined Minneapolis and St. Paul police forces.