Duluth schools sign onto lawsuit against DHS to 'speak out on behalf' of districts who can't

KELLY GORDON: Two Minnesota school districts and Education Minnesota, which represents the state's teachers' unions, filed a lawsuit this morning to block the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, from conducting immigration enforcement activity in or near public schools. It follows DHS's decision to remove limitations of immigration enforcement at sensitive locations like schools and churches.

Duluth's Public School District has signed on to that lawsuit. The district sent an email to its families this morning that said it is, quote, "fighting for the safety and stability of our learning environments." Here to explain further is Duluth Public School District Superintendent John Magas. John, thanks for joining me here.

JOHN MAGAS: Good afternoon. Thanks for having me on.

KELLY GORDON: Yeah. Have there been any incidents with ICE agents on or near public schools in Duluth over the last few months?

JOHN MAGAS: Well, actually, we have-- there have been some ICE enforcement activities, but not related to the school here in Duluth. But we're also seeing far more activity by our neighbors. And I would also say that we are pretty seriously impacted because we have been spending a lot of time in preparation. And also, there's been a significant impact on learning and also just the emotional well-being of our students, too, as they're concerned about what might be happening or not happening. So that's where we're at.

KELLY GORDON: So why did you sign on to this lawsuit? Is that partly why?

JOHN MAGAS: Yes. So I think it's the impact of what we're seeing. But then also, in working closely with our neighbors, with our partner districts in the cities and other places, we're seeing that many districts are in a place where they're under such political pressure that they're not able to speak out in the same ways. And their immigrant communities are begging them not to bring further attention to this. So I think it's important for school districts, particularly midsize or larger school districts that are in other parts of the state, to speak out on behalf.

I think if there's one thing we've learned during these events, is that Minnesota stands up for its neighbors, whether it's in the streets of Minneapolis or whether it's school districts in the north standing up for districts like Fridley and Columbia Heights and many of the districts in the metro area.

KELLY GORDON: Right. So it's a bit of a collective action in that sense, just standing together.

JOHN MAGAS: Yes.

KELLY GORDON: Right. So do you think that this lawsuit is going to help keep students in your district safe as well?

JOHN MAGAS: I think so. And I think there are multiple layers of safety, right, when you think about physical safety, and then you also think about the emotional and mental health safety of our students. Definitely the two latter ones, that is definitely an important piece. And we don't know what enforcement might look like in the future.

We also recognize that by calling attention to this, we might call attention to our district. There's been concern by leaders in our community that by having this lawsuit, that it might draw heavier-handed immigration enforcement here. And so we don't know what the future may bring. We're very pleased to see at least some drawdown in the cities. But we don't know what the future is going to look like.

And then when we hear about things like immigration enforcement might not need to use judicial warrants-- which is our current standard, that they could use administrative warrants-- we're left wondering, does that apply to schools and other places as well? So physical safety has not been a significant concern yet. But we're very much aware that it could be in the future.

KELLY GORDON: Right.

JOHN MAGAS: In the meantime, though, I would say that we're very grateful to our local law enforcement, and they've had solid partnership there.

KELLY GORDON: Yeah. And I'm thinking, too, that this is happening in your community, even if it's not happening directly on school grounds or targeting students. I'm guessing that you've been hearing a lot from students and families in your district about ICE presence in the state. Is that true?

JOHN MAGAS: Yes. Yes, students, family, community members. We have staff members that are very concerned. We have different language programming where we have students or staff members that are from other countries and speak other languages and don't necessarily present as being white, the stereotype white American. And so they're expressing a lot of concern with us as well. And we also have a large American Indian population. So thinking about how are we making sure that we're protecting all of our populations, particularly those that have been historically underserved, is really important to Duluth Public Schools.

KELLY GORDON: So given that you are kind of doing this a little bit trying to get ahead of it sort of a thing, what kind of things are you thinking about that you need to do to prepare, if there is an ICE agent presence at or near schools, or something to that effect?

JOHN MAGAS: Sure. So we have a very detailed leadership resource hub that basically focuses on what are all of our procedures, how are we going to work through those pieces. And then we also have shared lots of resources with our students and families and staff as far as how they should react.

And I want to be clear, we're not about trying to impede law enforcement. I think that's sometimes, unfortunately, the call is that we're trying to impede law enforcement. We're all about legal action. But that requires a judicially signed warrant. And it also means that we should exercise those warrants in a way that is prudent and focused on safety. When people don't know what's going to happen, it's really impossible for them to learn. So we're concerned about the learning loss as well.

KELLY GORDON: Yeah. I'm a parent myself, and I was thinking this week that this time often feels like COVID, where we're trying to build the airplane while we're flying it. And I think that's so true for all of my friends who work in education. So I'm just projecting a little bit here. We're still, obviously, in the midst of all of this. But what do you think it's going to take to bring stability back to your district and other districts around the state?

JOHN MAGAS: Well, it's interesting that you should make that COVID analogy, because I work really closely with our Association of Metropolitan School Districts. And in a call where we're working through some of those topics, many of us were commenting that this just feels like another pandemic. It feels like COVID is here again. But the problem is that this is man-made. This is created by us. And it doesn't have to be this way. And so if we move towards protected status for schools, I think that that will allow at least some assurances that our schools will be safe.

Thinking of those other areas like hospitals and churches and law enforcement and things of that nature, too, we worry that there might be people in the immigrant community that might be sexually trafficked. [INAUDIBLE] forward to law enforcement. We have families that need food and need those resources, and they're afraid to leave their homes. And so even though we haven't had significant enforcement in Duluth, we're concerned that it still is having a very powerful impact on our community.

KELLY GORDON: Right, very unsettling times. Really thank you for spending your time with us today, John. Thank you for sharing what's going on up there in Duluth.

JOHN MAGAS: Thank you. And we would also say that it's important, as the country considers immigration enforcement reform, that they include protected status in this. I know that they're talking about body cams and everything else when it comes to the budget impasse with Congress, but we would urge them to consider protected status for schools as well. So thank you so much.

KELLY GORDON: Yeah, thank you. That was Duluth Public Schools Superintendent John Magas.