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education
Minnesota Districts and Teachers Sue to Make ICE 'Stay Away From Our Schools'
"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," said the Education Minnesota president.
Feb 04, 2026
Just days after an educational leader in Minnesota said that "our families feel hunted" because of President Donald Trump's "Operation Metro Surge," two school districts and a teachers union on Wednesday sued to block immigration agents from targeting people in and around public schools.
"For decades, administrations of both parties recognized that schools are different—places where children learn, where families gather, and where fear has no place," noted June Hoidal of Zimmerman Reed LLP, one of the firms behind the new lawsuit filed in the District of Minnesota.
However, shortly after Trump returned to office last year, his Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revoked the rule barring agents from arresting undocumented immigrants in or around "sensitive" locations like schools, places of worship, and hospitals, as part of his pursuit of mass deportations.
"When enforcement moves into school zones, the harm isn't theoretical," Hoidal stressed. "Attendance drops, instruction stops, and school communities lose the stability public education depends on. Districts across the country are watching how courts draw the line around spaces dedicated to children."
Over the past year, members of DHS and its agencies—including Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—have flooded various communities, including in Minnesota. The districts in this case serve students in Fridley, a suburb of the Twin Cities, and Duluth, about 150 miles northeast of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
"The removal of long-standing protections around schools has had immediate and real consequences for our learning community," said John Magas, superintendent of Duluth Public Schools. "We've seen increased anxiety among students, disruptions to attendance, and families questioning whether school remains a safe and predictable place for their children. Schools function best when families trust that education can happen without fear, and that stability has been undermined."
His counterpart in Fridley, Brenda Lewis, similarly said that "as superintendent, my responsibility is the safety, dignity, and education of every child entrusted to our schools. When immigration enforcement activity occurs near schools, it undermines trust and creates fear that directly interferes with students' ability to learn and feel safe. Schools depend on stability, and that stability has been disrupted."
As Common Dreams reported earlier this week, Lewis has recently spoken at a press conference and to media outlets about the flood of federal agents—and it's come at a cost. The superintendent said she was tailed by agents multiple times while driving to and from the district office, and three of the six school board members have spotted ICE vehicles outside of their homes.
"It is my responsibility to ensure that our students and staff and families are safe, and if that means [agents are] going to target me instead of them, then that's what we need to do, and then they can leave our families alone," Lewis said. "But at the end of the day, are they trying to intimidate me to stop? Yes. Will I stop? No."
In addition to the two districts, Education Minnesota, a labor union of more than 84,000 state educators, is part of the suit against DHS, CBP, ICE, and agency leaders. The group's president, Monica Byron, declared that "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," she continued, "and so that our members can focus on teaching instead of constantly reacting to the shocking and unconstitutional actions of federal agents."
Last February, a federal judge in Maryland blocked the Trump administration from conducting immigration enforcement actions at Baptist, Quaker, and Sikh places of worship that sued over the repeal of protections for sensitive locations. The new suit asks the court to throw out the 2025 policy and restore protections to all such places.
The legal group Democracy Forward is involved in both cases and several others challenging Trump policies. The organization's president and CEO, Skye Perryman, said Wednesday that "the trauma being inflicted on children in America by this president is horrific and must end. The Trump-Vance administration's decision to abandon long-standing protections for schools has injected fear into classrooms, driven families into hiding, and thrown entire school communities into chaos."
"This is unlawful, reckless, and legally and morally indefensible," Perryman added. "We are in court because children should never have to look over their shoulders at school or worry that their loved ones could be taken away at the schoolhouse gate, and because the government cannot undermine decades of settled policy without regard for students, educators, or the law."
The suit was filed as Tom Homan, Trump's "border czar" and one of the named defendants, announced that 700 immigration agents are departing from Minnesota, which will leave around 2,000 there. The move comes amid incredible pressure on the administration to end Operation Metro Surge. Protests in the state, and in solidarity around the country, have ramped up since agents fatally shot legal observers Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
The deadly operation in Minnesota has also impacted federal spending decisions in Congress. On Tuesday, lawmakers passed and Trump signed a bill to end a short-term government shutdown, but the measure funds DHS for less than two weeks. However, even if future funding for the department isn't resolved in that time, ICE can continue its operations thanks to an extra $75 billion for the agency that Republicans put in last year's budget package.
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Despite Delay, Texas Republicans Push Proposal Forcing Students to Read Bible in School
“Religious readings belong in Sunday school, not in public schools," said one parent opposed to the proposal.
Feb 03, 2026
Less than six months after a federal judge enjoined a Texas law mandating display of the "allegedly Protestant version of the Ten Commandments" in public schools, Republican lawmakers in the Lone Star State are pushing legislation to force children to read the Bible in classrooms.
Last week, the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) voted 13-1 to delay voting on a proposed list of mandatory reading for all K-12 public school students until April in order to provide more time for feedback and thousands of corrections to a Bible-infused elementary school curriculum approved two years ago.
"This would bring the Word of God back into schools in a meaningful way for the first time in decades," SBOE member and Christian pastor Brandon Hall said last week in support of the forced Bible reading proposal.
However, as Texas parent Kevin Jackson—who spoke against the proposed list at a public hearing last week—put it, “Religious readings belong in Sunday school, not in public schools."
The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a Wisconsin-based advocacy group, said Tuesday on social media that "mandating Bible readings in public schools isn’t 'education,' it’s state-sponsored religious exercise."
"Public schools are for everyone," FFRF added. "Government has no business promoting or imposing religion on students. Church–state separation protects all Texans."
Carisa Lopez, deputy director of the Texas Freedom Network—a civil liberties and religious freedom group—said Friday that the proposal "enforces a one-size-fits-all approach in one of the largest and most diverse states in the nation."
“This kind of state micromanagement tosses aside local control and makes it harder or even impossible for teachers to tailor instruction in ways that are appropriate for their students," Lopez added. "Even worse is that this list represents another step by the state toward turning public schools into Sunday schools that undermine the right of parents to direct the religious education of their own children.”
Rabbi David Segal, policy counsel for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, noted that “the proposed reading list relies heavily on Protestant Christian translations and leaves out other faith traditions."
“Public schools have a duty to prepare students to participate in civic life, not to advance a particular religious viewpoint," Segal stressed. "Teaching about religion has always been appropriate in public education, but what we are seeing here verges on state-sanctioned religious instruction."
The mandatory reading list also contains texts that conservative SBOE members say represent "foundational" literature that all students should know. However, some Democratic board members object to what they say is the list's lack of racial and gender diversity.
“This list does not represent the students of Texas,” Democratic SBOE member Tiffany Clark told Education Week. “For so many years, students of color have had to endure a European-centered philosophy, history, without representation of their own history being recognized. That is exactly what we see continuing to happen with this list.”
The proposed reading list follows the SBOE's 2024 approval of Bluebonnet Learning, a Bible-infused curriculum for elementary public school students that critics say violates the US Constitution's establishment clause.
Last year, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott—a devout Catholic—signed SB 10, which forces display of the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms. This, despite an earlier ruling from a federal judge, who found that a similar law in Louisiana was an unconstitutional violation of the separation of church and state.
In an extraordinarily pointed ruling last August, US District Judge for the Western District of Texas Fred Biery issued a preliminary injunction blocking parts of SB 10.
"Imagine the consternation and legal firestorm were the following fictional story to become reality," Biery wrote. "Hamtramck, Michigan: Being a majority Muslim community, the Hamtramck City Council and school board have decreed that, beginning September 1, 2025, the following teachings of the Quran, Surah Al-An’am 6:151 and Surah Al-Isra 17:23, shall be posted in all public buildings and public schools."
"While 'We the people' rule by a majority, the Bill of Rights protects the minority Christians in Hamtramck and those 33% of Texans who do not adhere to any of the Christian denominations," he added.
I don’t know who this man is but protect him at all costs!! He finally broke it down. So much she had no come back! See the God yall worshipping is yourself and your opinions!! I love how he use the word, the one she claims to know in his argument! Sadly they still won’t get it.… pic.twitter.com/KHqrVf5SHC
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) January 23, 2024
If the new reading list mandate is approved in April as anticipated, Texas will become the first state in the nation to force every student in the state to read the Bible. Former Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters—a Republican and Christian nationalist—mandated that all public school districts incorporate the Bible—and specifically the Ten Commandments—into their curricula for grades 5-12.
It would start with a mandate to read material including "The Golden Rule” in kindergarten, "The Parable of the Prodigal Son” in first grade, and "The Road to Damascus" in third grade.
As Hemant Mehta wrote for his Friendly Atheist blog :
The readings get more specific as students get older. Seventh graders would have to read "The Shepherd's Psalm (Book of Psalms, Chapter 23)” from the Old Testament along with “The Definition of Love” from 1 Corinthians 13. High schoolers would be reading Genesis 11:1-9 about the Tower of Babel, Lamentations 3, and the story of David and Goliath as told in 1 Samuel 17.
"What makes this proposal so damning is that Christianity is the only religious book included in the required readings, and even the more secular stories are infused with more direct religious messages," Mehta wrote on Saturday. "That’s on top of the state-sanctioned curriculum itself, which is already Bible-heavy."
"The Texas Board of Education is shoving explicitly Christian narratives into a mandatory, state-sanctioned reading list and pretending it’s objective when it comes to religion," Mehta added. "They want to privilege one (and only one) religion at the expense of all others, treating biblical stories as if they’re foundational truths and the default moral framework for everyone, regardless of their families’ beliefs."
There is an alternative proposal by Republican SBOE member Will Hickman that would increase the number of more contemporary works like The Hunger Games and Ender's Game and swap biblical texts with Judeo-Christian mythology such as the story of Adam and Eve and Noah's Ark "without any Bible thumping involved," as Mehta put it.
"That might be fine! But that’s clearly not what most Republicans are aiming for," he wrote. "They don’t care if kids are culturally literate regarding the Bible; they just want those kids to accept the Bible as true."
As if on cue, the Wiley Independent School District on Tuesday issued a statement announcing an investigation into what it called the "unauthorized distribution of religious materials" on the campus of Wylie East High School. While the announcement does not specify the religion in question, Marco Hunter-Lopez, who leads the school's Republican student club, said it was Islam.
🚨 Islamic Outreach Booth Sparks Parent Concerns at Wylie East High School 🚨
Wylie, Texas — Parents and community members are raising concerns after an Islamic outreach organization set up an informational booth on the campus of Wylie East High School during the school day this… pic.twitter.com/cNpq1aPfQf
— Texan Report (@TexanReport) February 3, 2026
At the national level, President Donald Trump and his administration have pledged to "protect" prayer in public schools.
“To have a great nation, you have to have religion," the thrice-married adulterer, serial liar, and purveyor of $1,000 branded Bibles said last year. "I will always defend our glorious heritage, and we will protect the Judeo-Christian principles of our founding.”
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'Our Families Feel Hunted': Minnesota Schools Overwhelmed With Fear Amid ICE Rampage
"The fundamental right to go to school and the basic principle of human dignity has been ripped away from our children, our staff, and our families," said the superintendent of the school district in suburban Fridley.
Feb 02, 2026
Teachers slipping to work under cover of darkness. The windows of a school building papered over to stop onlookers from peering in. Classrooms more than half-empty in an eerie echo of the pandemic five years ago.
These are just a few of the scenes that have been reported out of Minnesota schools in recent days amid President Donald Trump's "Operation Metro Surge," which has flooded Minneapolis, St. Paul, and surrounding towns with immigration agents who school officials say have left the area feeling like an occupation zone.
As the Twin Cities have reeled from agents' fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, agents with agents with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—including Border Patrol—have been documented detaining, harassing, and in some cases brutalizing students, including US citizens and others with legal status.
The Trump administration has reversed the Biden-era guidance that forbade immigration raids at "sensitive" locations, including schools, churches, and hospitals.
According to the New York Times, "School officials in the Twin Cities say federal agents have appeared at bus stops, and showed up at people’s homes at times when they are coming and going from school."
Some school districts across the state have moved to an e-learning option to accommodate the growing number of students who are too afraid to come to school for fear of being taken by agents.
Minneapolis School Board Chair Collin Beachy told Fox 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul that 6,500 students in the district of around 29,000 had opted to learn remotely on the first day it was offered, which was the Monday after agents were recorded handcuffing staff members at Roosevelt High School before blasting students with chemical irritants.
At one Minneapolis charter school profiled on Monday by the Los Angeles Times, which was left unnamed due to fear of reprisal from the Trump administration, fewer than half of the 800 students, who are nearly all Black or Latino, now report for class in person. Three other charter schools have shut down in-person learning entirely.
For those who still attend in person, the LA Times observes that "Signs of a fearful new normal are all over the school." According to the paper:
Green craft paper covers the bottom of many first-floor windows so outsiders can’t peer in. A notice taped outside one door says unauthorized entry is prohibited: “This includes all federal law enforcement personnel and activities unless authorized by lawful written direction from appropriate school officials or a valid court order.”
"Three students have been detained—and later released—in recent weeks," the LA Times said of the school its reporters visited. "Two others were followed into the school parking lot and questioned about their immigration status. Several have parents who were deported or who self-deported. Latino staff said they have also been stopped and questioned about their legal status."
One student, 16-year-old Alondra, who was born in the US and is a citizen, told the paper that she and her friend had been detained shortly after school while going to purchase medication for her grandmother.
A car swerved in front of her as she entered the parking lot, and four men in ski masks got out with guns drawn. After she was forced to stop abruptly, another car full of agents rear-ended her vehicle. She said agents began attempting to break into her window and tried to blame her for the accident.
Despite showing her identification, Alondra and her friend were handcuffed and taken to a detention facility for hours. Her feet were shackled together, and she was left in a holding facility alone.
“I asked at least five times if I could let my guardian know what was happening, because I was underage, but they never let me,” she said. She and her friend were both released without paperwork about the incident. At the time of the report, she had still been unable to locate her car.
The school has undertaken protocols to protect students from raids that are "more typical of active shooter emergencies," the LA Times said:
Staff coordinate throughout the day with a neighborhood watch group to determine whether ICE agents are nearby. When they are, classroom doors are locked and hallways emptied until staff announce “all clear.” ...
If agents were to enter the building without a judicial warrant, the school would go into a full lockdown, turning off lights, staying silent and moving out of sight.
The school's executive director, identified only as Noelle, told the paper: "Our families feel hunted."
That anxiety has spread beyond the Twin Cities and into the surrounding suburbs, especially at schools with large nonwhite populations.
In the suburb of Fridley, which the New York Times visited for a report published Saturday, school administrators now escort more than two dozen staff, many of whom are international teachers, to school before sunrise each morning.
In nearby Columbia Heights, "more than two dozen parents and four students have been detained by federal agents, including a 5-year-old boy on his way home from school who was detained with his father."
That boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, was released from custody this weekend by a federal judge and returned to school in Minneapolis after being shipped to a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, where he became extremely ill. Since then, a measles outbreak has been reported at the facility.
In Fridley, school officials are constantly on high alert, fearing that a similar fate could befall their own students.
The school's superintendent, Brenda Lewis, spends the dismissal period circling the neighborhood, looking for agents.
Last week, she and other educators spoke at a news conference denouncing the terror that ICE had inflicted upon her students and community.
"The fundamental right to go to school and the basic principle of human dignity has been ripped away from our children, our staff, and our families,” Lewis said. “None of this is partisan. This is about children—predominantly children of color—being treated as less than human.”
Since she spoke at the conference, she said masked agents have tailed her car on multiple occasions, and that on Wednesday, they came closer to the school campus than usual. Three other members of the Fridley school board said they saw agents parked outside their homes, and another also says they were followed.
"It is my responsibility to ensure that our students and staff and families are safe, and if that means [agents are] going to target me instead of them, then that's what we need to do, and then they can leave our families alone," she told Bring Me the News on Friday. "But at the end of the day, are they trying to intimidate me to stop? Yes. Will I stop? No."
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