Minnesota school districts, teachers union sue Trump administration over ICE activity near schools

Fridley and Duluth schools, along with the state teachers union, are suing the Trump administration to keep federal immigration agents off school property.

The new measure comes as school leaders decry what they say is increased federal agent activity on and near campuses, causing fear and safety concerns. The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction barring enforcement within 1,000 feet of school property.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday, Feb. 4, in U.S. District Court in Minnesota against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and top officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection. It asks a judge to reinstate the federal government’s decades-old “protected areas” policy, which limited enforcement in sensitive locations including schools.

The DHS revoked that policy in January 2025, in what attorneys for the plaintiffs argue was an “unexplained and irrational change” without proper notice.

Since then, federal officials have said immigration agents do not target schools or children. In September, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: “ICE is not conducting enforcement operations at, or ‘raiding,’ schools.”

In a statement on Feb. 4, McLaughlin said: “ICE is not going to schools to arrest children — we are protecting children. Criminals are no longer be able to hide in America’s schools to avoid arrest."

The Trump administration, the statement added, trusts agents to “use common sense” and make an arrest “if a dangerous illegal alien felon were to flee into a school, or a child sex offender is working as an employee,” the statement read. That situation, the statement said, “has not happened.”

Then last week, Fridley Superintendent Brenda Lewis said she was followed by ICE on her way to school. Several of the district’s school board members have had ICE vehicles park outside their homes and follow them, something Lewis said is “retaliation” for the suburban district speaking out against ICE. She said Feb. 4 that agents drove back and forth in front of an elementary school during drop-off, and the principal was yelled at and videotaped by ICE agents.

“Do you know why this is happening?” she said. “Because I am telling the truth on behalf of our district. This is clear and present terror.”

Fridley schools closed Jan. 9 and Jan. 16 because of safety concerns and have seen attendance fall by nearly a third, prompting the district to expand remote learning. School social workers are delivering food to families staying home, which means “diverting their time from their normal work” and putting their own safety at risk, as agents have followed them during deliveries, according to the complaint.

Most of the district’s students are students of color. Fridley also employs many educators recruited internationally for hard-to-fill roles.

Duluth Public Schools Superintendent John Magas said his northern Minnesota school district has not experienced the surge of immigration enforcement in the same way Fridley schools have.

“It’s important that when many districts are unable to speak up because of this pressure, that other districts speak up on their behalf and be the Minnesota neighbors they deserve,” he said. “We want to fight on behalf of all students in the state of Minnesota.”

Duluth schools say administrators are spending nearly a third of their time on planning related to immigration activities, an effort the district estimates costs about $573,000 a month.

The lawsuit also cites DHS activity at or near other Minnesota schools and day care centers, including the chaotic scene outside Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis in January when Border Patrol agents used pepper spray on a crowd, including some students.

The lawsuit also cited the detention of a Brooklyn Center parent at a school bus stop, the detention of two Hopkins students, several instances of agents on bus routes and two cases of agents stopping school vans with students on board.

In making the case for the learning disruptions, the lawsuit lists several examples of teacher members of Education Minnesota, the state’s teachers union, operating in “crisis mode.”

“Although it pains me to say this, one of the greatest threats to the health and safety of Minnesota’s school-aged children right now are the ICE and Border Patrol agents in our state,” Education Minnesota President Monica Byron said. “The ICE presence at and near schools is causing lockdowns, emptying schools and traumatizing children every day.”

June Hoidal, the plaintiffs’ attorney with Zimmerman Reed, said she hopes the case will have a broad impact.