Twin Cities schools reopen with security measures tied to ICE operations
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The Minneapolis, Fridley and Columbia Heights school districts welcomed students back to school buildings Monday morning after canceling classes last week due to safety concerns related to federal immigration enforcement throughout the state.
The districts are offering extra security measures this week.
In Minneapolis, district officials said students who wanted an online learning option would be able to do so through Feb. 12.
In the Fridley school district, superintendent Brenda Lewis told staff and families extra security personnel and district observers would be stationed at school sites to monitor for federal immigration enforcement activity.
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“Each of our sites will have a cabinet member for the foreseeable future literally officing out of your school. They will be your eyes and ears at arrival, dismissal," Lewis said in a message sent to staff over the weekend.
In other school districts, parents took it upon themselves to provide extra security measures at school buildings.
At St. Paul Central High School on Friday, dozens of parents lined the sidewalk to add an extra layer of protection to students boarding their buses.
“We know that ICE is in the area and that they’ve already visited a high school so we wanna be prepared in case they visit this one,” said Joshua Wilkes, the parent of a Central High student.
More than 30 percent of students were absent from classes in both the Fridley and Richfield school districts last week, according to district officials.
“What we are seeing right now is something I could not have imagined,” Richfield school board member Paula Cole said at a protest on Saturday.
“This is beyond the imagination,” she added. “I am here to join in our community and ask our federal government authorities and members of the United States Congress to restore peace and safety by recalling your ICE agents away from Minnesota.”
Students at several Twin Cities High Schools say they are planning walkouts to protest federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota throughout the week. Students at Roseville High School and Maple Grove High School were expected to walk out of classes on Monday.
