Minnesota Schools Sue to Stop ICE Enforcement on Campus

A coalition of Minnesota school districts and educators filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to block the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from conducting immigration enforcement activities in or near public schools. The lawsuit challenges what plaintiffs describe as a dramatic shift in federal policy that has disrupted education, endangered students, and created widespread fear in school communities across the state.

Background

For more than 30 years, federal immigration enforcement agencies operated under policies that treated schools as sensitive locations where enforcement actions were rare and conducted only in exceptional circumstances. The Department of Homeland Security recently removed these longstanding protections, leading to what school officials describe as a rapid expansion of immigration enforcement activity in and around Minnesota schools since December 2025.

The change coincides with a federal initiative known as Operation Metro Surge. According to the lawsuit, this shift has been dramatic and disruptive. School districts report that attendance has dropped sharply in early January, with some districts experiencing attendance declines of nearly one-third within weeks. In several districts, large portions of multilingual student populations were absent, while in others, attendance fell below half.

Key Details

The lawsuit names the Department of Homeland Security and its secretary as defendants. The plaintiffs include the Duluth Public Schools, Fridley Public Schools, and Education Minnesota, a teachers' union representing more than 84,000 educators across the state.

School officials documented multiple incidents over the past month. On January 7, a chaotic scene unfolded at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis when federal agents arrived as school was being dismissed. According to school officials and video footage, agents tackled people, handcuffed two staff members, and used chemical weapons on bystanders and students. A student was pepper-sprayed after appearing to lob a snowball at a federal agent.

The same day, a teacher at Un Mundo Nuevo Children's Academy, a preschool in a Minneapolis suburb, was detained by ICE after being lured outside under false pretenses. At Jardin Spanish Immersion Academy in Minneapolis, federal agents removed another teacher directly from her car outside the school building.

On January 31, federal agents staged enforcement operations in the parking lots of at least two Fridley school buildings and followed school leadership, including the superintendent and school board members.

At Columbia Heights High School, federal agents drove onto school property and approached the loading dock. Schools in the district have had to hold recess indoors because agents were present nearby. At Valley View Elementary School nearby, three students and at least 25 parents have been detained. The school's principal now spends each morning and dismissal checking the perimeter for federal agents.

The Impact on Students and Families

School administrators say the enforcement activity has created a chilling effect that extends far beyond immigrant families. Fear of federal agents near schools has kept entire families away from classrooms, not just those facing immigration concerns.

"Students can't learn, and educators can't teach, when there are armed, masked federal agents stationed within view of classroom windows, sometimes for days on end. ICE and Border Patrol need to stay away from our schools so students can go there safely each day to learn without fear." – Monica Byron, president of Education Minnesota

The Duluth School District noted in the lawsuit that increased absenteeism among students from immigrant communities has forced difficult choices. The district faces the decision to either expand online learning options or risk that students will accumulate more than 15 consecutive absences and be unenrolled from school.

What This Means

The lawsuit challenges the Department of Homeland Security's decision on legal grounds, arguing that the agency violated the Administrative Procedure Act and constitutional protections. The plaintiffs contend that DHS failed to adequately consider the educational and community impacts when it rescinded prior guidance limiting enforcement in sensitive locations.

School leaders argue that decades of bipartisan policy recognized schools as different from other locations. A 2007 ICE policy quoted in the lawsuit stated that the presence of agents conducting investigative activity at schools has always been a point of particular sensitivity and that great care should be applied before undertaking enforcement actions at or near schools.

The case comes as courts nationwide watch how schools and immigration enforcement interact. Similar legal challenges have succeeded in other contexts. Democracy Forward, the legal organization representing the schools, previously won a case challenging ICE raids in houses of worship, which were also designated as sensitive locations.

The lawsuit seeks a court order barring DHS and ICE from conducting immigration enforcement activity in or near school grounds. School officials say the outcome will have implications not just for Minnesota but for districts across the country facing similar enforcement activity.