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Hundreds of Twin Cities high school students walked out of school Monday to protest federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota, and some school leaders in the region are increasingly concerned about high absenteeism with families fearing being caught up in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

An estimated 500 high school students walked out of Roseville High School Monday morning, walking from their school, around the parking lot and onto a bridge over Minnesota Highway 36 in Roseville. 

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Students chanted “ICE out!” and carried signs reading “ICE stay out of our schools” and “ICE is kidnapping and killing us.” Several said they’re worried for the safety of their classmates, friends, teachers and families. 

“We’re supporting the cause and trying to fight for ICE out of Minnesota and for our city to be safe again,” said Julia Engholm, a sophomore at Roseville High who joined the march.

The Roseville school district on Monday said that it would pause field trips for the entire month of January amid concerns about ICE and other agents concentrated in the region.

Several schools in the Twin Cities canceled classes last week out of security concerns. Minneapolis Public Schools has said the district will offer an optional online learning opportunity for families who may need it through Feb. 12. 

The St. Paul school system is also discussing virtual learning options for students afraid of coming to school because of the ICE operations and urged parents to speak directly with leaders at their kids’ schools.

Around the region, parents are organizing to-go grocery shopping for families who are too afraid to leave their homes. 

“We are hearing about a lot of food insecurity. So as a result of that, our social workers in our school are taking up donations to create go bags for families,” said Marie, a school leader at an elementary school in the Twin Cities who agreed to speak on the condition that MPR News not use her full name.

“We are volunteering to grocery shop for them and drop materials off and really do whatever it takes to keep them safe and comforted in a very challenging time,” she said, adding that attendance at her school has dropped by about 30 percent in the last few days. 

Wearing black T-shirts and jackets, about 300 students at Maple Grove Senior High School marched towards Fernbrook Lane, congregating at the intersection on Monday. 

Chanting, “This is what democracy looks like,” students carried signs reading “Remember Renee Good” and “ICE should be in my latte, not in my streets.”

“My church has been getting threats because it was associated with Renee Good,” said Maple Grove High senior Ria de Looze, who helped organize the walkout.

“I know a lot of my friends who might not necessarily even be immigrants are feeling fear just on the possibility of being racially profiled.”

Though many of the recent ICE operations have been concentrated in the Twin Cities, students in the larger metro area are feeling the impact and want to show solidarity, like Maple Grove senior Peyton who came out to the protest. 

“Even though a lot of people that I know and at the school have said, ‘What does the walk out do? You're not directly affecting anything,’ I think it shows that there are people who aren't accepting what's happening and that it is wrong,” said Peyton, who asked that her last name not be used for this story.

Across Minnesota and the nation, people are protesting against what they’ve seen happen between federal immigration officers and community members in the state. 

De Looze said she wants people to know that the protests are happening in schools too.

“The heart of the message is to express our need for justice,” she said. “Youth voices are so often overlooked, and this is one of our few ways to organize youth in such a powerful way. We really wanted to get the message out and inspire people to keep up the work.”

School districts farther from the Twin Cities, like Maple Grove’s, have not yet made changes to school operations, though more absenteeism is being reported.

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Hundreds of Twin Cities high school students walked out of school Monday to protest federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota. Officials are increasingly concerned about high absenteeism in some schools with families fearing being caught up in ICE operations.

Twin Cities students walk out, decry ICE as surge continues

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