Minnesota districts sue feds to keep ICE away from schools
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Two Minnesota school districts backed by the state teachers union filed a lawsuit Wednesday to restore the Department of Homeland Security’s policy of recognizing schools as protected areas where immigration enforcement can’t be conducted.
“The time for strongly worded letters is over,” said John Magas, superintendent of the Duluth Public Schools. “This is not a partisan issue. It is wanting just to make sure that our students are safe and able to focus on learning when they are in school, rather than worrying about immigration enforcement.”
Duluth and Fridley Public Schools filed the lawsuit Wednesday morning together with the state teachers union, Education Minnesota. They say the Department of Homeland Security violated the Administrative Procedures Act when it rescinded a DHS policy that designated schools as a safe zone to be avoided when conducting immigration enforcement.
The long-standing DHS Protected Areas Policy, first issued in 1993 and backed by several administrations in memos over the following decades, forbids DHS from conducting immigration enforcement in protected zones such as schools, hospitals and churches. The Trump administration rescinded the policy in January 2025.
Minnesota school leaders say the end of the policy has led to masked federal agents circling their school grounds, staging operations in district parking lots, harassing board members and administrative staff and detaining dozens of parents and students during the two-month federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
“It has been escalating every single day,” said Brenda Lewis, the Fridley superintendent.
— Elizabeth Shockman, MPR News
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