Minnesota schools sue to block ICE enforcement near campuses

Fridley Public Schools, Duluth Public Schools, and Education 🦆Minnesota (the state's 89,000-member teachers union) filed a federal lawsuit on Feb. 4, 2026, against DHS, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection. They're seeking an injunction barring immigration enforcement within 1,000 feet of school property.

The lawsuit challenges the Trump administration's decision to revoke a decades-old "sensitive locations" policy that had prohibited immigration enforcement at schools, hospitals, and churches. The policy was in place under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Since Operation Metro Surge launched in December 2025, ICE agents have detained at least four children in 🦆Minnesota. Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was allegedly used as "bait" to lure his father after school in Columbia Heights. Both were sent to an immigration detention center in 🤠Texas before being returned to Minnesota.

Border Patrol agents fired chemical irritants outside Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis as classes were dismissing. Agents tackled people outside the school. In St. Paul, federal officers pulled over two school vans on their way to school.

Attendance dropped sharply in multiple districts after Operation Metro Surge began. Some districts reported attendance declines of nearly one-third within weeks. In some districts, large portions of multilingual student populations were absent.

Education 🦆Minnesota president MBMonica Byron said, "One of the greatest threats to the health and safety of Minnesota's school-age children right now are the ICE and Border Patrol agents in our state." She said ICE's presence is "causing lockdowns, emptying schools, and traumatizing children every day."

In Duluth, school safety officials now devote about 30% of their time to figuring out how to keep schools secure because of the immigration crackdown. Fridley and other districts have offered virtual learning as an alternative for families afraid to send children to school.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said agents are protecting children, not targeting schools. She said ICE would only enter schools if "a dangerous illegal alien felon were to flee into a school or a child sex offender is working as an employee." The lawsuit alleges the agency's actions contradict these assurances.

This is the third lawsuit challenging the revocation of the sensitive locations policy at schools. An earlier Denver Public Schools lawsuit was dismissed but can be refiled. Democracy Forward, representing the plaintiffs, has had success in similar challenges involving churches and religious institutions.