US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has sparked widespread fear and intimidation in Minneapolis schools, prompting leaders to take drastic measures to protect students and families.
Families of Minneapolis Public Schools students gathered at Hiawatha Park on Friday morning to demand accountability for the fatal shooting of Renee Goode by ICE agents. The district's officials and educators expressed their concerns about the intimidation and anxiety caused by ICE's presence near schools, citing instances where federal agents have shown up at school property and used chemical irritants to detain teachers.
Monica Byron, President of Education Minnesota, stated that every moment ICE remains near schools endangers children, educators, and families. The fear is palpable, with parents too afraid to leave their homes due to the presence of ICE agents, leading some students to be transported to school in secret rides.
Catina Taylor, Minneapolis Federation of Educators, described a harrowing incident where grown men used pepper spray on terrified high school students on school property. Chris Erickson, president of the St. Cloud Education Association, spoke about how the fear of ICE's presence has affected teaching practices, with teachers now hesitant to load students onto buses in case they are arrested.
The scene was repeated in Minneapolis, with educators and parents demanding accountability for the shooting. Natasha Dockter, Minneapolis Federation of Educators, condemned ICE activity on school grounds, stating that "immigration enforcement should never, under any circumstances, be on school grounds."
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed that officers used targeted crowd control measures for safety reasons and denied deploying tear gas, contradicting witness accounts. However, the district's response to this incident highlights the need for clearer guidelines and protections against ICE's presence in schools.
As Minneapolis educators continue to organize networks of care and protection for students of immigrant families, the community is left to wonder when and if these measures will be sufficient to address the root cause of the problem: immigration enforcement on school grounds.
Families of Minneapolis Public Schools students gathered at Hiawatha Park on Friday morning to demand accountability for the fatal shooting of Renee Goode by ICE agents. The district's officials and educators expressed their concerns about the intimidation and anxiety caused by ICE's presence near schools, citing instances where federal agents have shown up at school property and used chemical irritants to detain teachers.
Monica Byron, President of Education Minnesota, stated that every moment ICE remains near schools endangers children, educators, and families. The fear is palpable, with parents too afraid to leave their homes due to the presence of ICE agents, leading some students to be transported to school in secret rides.
Catina Taylor, Minneapolis Federation of Educators, described a harrowing incident where grown men used pepper spray on terrified high school students on school property. Chris Erickson, president of the St. Cloud Education Association, spoke about how the fear of ICE's presence has affected teaching practices, with teachers now hesitant to load students onto buses in case they are arrested.
The scene was repeated in Minneapolis, with educators and parents demanding accountability for the shooting. Natasha Dockter, Minneapolis Federation of Educators, condemned ICE activity on school grounds, stating that "immigration enforcement should never, under any circumstances, be on school grounds."
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed that officers used targeted crowd control measures for safety reasons and denied deploying tear gas, contradicting witness accounts. However, the district's response to this incident highlights the need for clearer guidelines and protections against ICE's presence in schools.
As Minneapolis educators continue to organize networks of care and protection for students of immigrant families, the community is left to wonder when and if these measures will be sufficient to address the root cause of the problem: immigration enforcement on school grounds.
ICE coming into schools, making kids and parents super scared... like what's next? Schools becoming detention centers?! 
This is wild, and honestly kinda messed up. I mean we're talking about kids in school, learning and growing, not some hardened inmates. The fact that teachers are too afraid to send kids on buses because they might get arrested is just ridiculous! 
We need to figure out a way to keep these schools safe for EVERYONE, not just making it easier for ICE to swoop in and intimidate. And what's with the DHS saying they used "targeted crowd control measures" when witnesses are saying otherwise?! 
It's time for some serious accountability and clearer guidelines on how this should all go down...
. deploying tear gas in a crowd? that's just reckless & puts kids at risk. and what about all those teachers who are too scared to drive their own students home because of ICE's presence? that's not a safety measure, that's a recipe for disaster 
. we need better guidelines in place, like, pronto! 
! I mean, schools r places 4 learnin', growin' & havin' fun. Not for federal agents showin' up & causin' anxiety. Parents shouldn't be afraid 2 leave their homes b/c of ICE presence. It's like, what's the point? 
The kids got enough 2 worry 'bout. We need better guidelines so this stuff don't happen again. Schools r supposed 2 be safe spaces, not places of fear 
. Can't we just focus on gettin' kids educated & prepared 4 the future instead of dealin' with ICE drama? 
i cant believe ice agents are scaring kids in minneapolis schools its so wrong that theyre using pepper spray and chemical irritants like that 
especially when they say they didnt deploy tear gas but witnesses saw it happen yeah clear guidelines and protections are def needed ASAP 
schools should be safe spaces for all students not places of fear and intimidation 
. It's totally unacceptable that educators are having to deal with this, especially when it comes to using chemical irritants on teachers and even high school students 
. I mean, can you imagine being in that situation? It's terrifying.
. And what about those guidelines and protections for schools? We need some serious action taken here to ensure our kids' safety and well-being 
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anyway seriously though its not right that teachers are too scared to load up buses or even just hang out on school property because of these dudes they should focus on teachin and helpin kids learn not chasin people down with pepper spray 
what kinda message is that sendin to our youth?
. How can you even have that kind of presence near kids?! 
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. Educators are already doing their part by organizing care networks, but it's not enough 
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and teachers are too scared to even do their jobs because of the fear of being arrested. what kind of system is this? 
. I mean, what's next? They're gonna start arresting kids for having an accent or something? 
It's already stressing parents and teachers, they shouldn't have to worry about being targeted themselves #NotOnMyWatch #ICEsGotToGo.
. We need to stand together as a community and demand change #JusticeForRenee #NoICEAtSchools. Those educators who spoke out against ICE's presence are total heroes 
, and we should be supporting them all the way #UnionStrong.
. This is just a recipe for disaster if we let ICE run wild here #ICEMustGo. It's time for us to take a stand and say that immigration enforcement has no place in our schools #NoToICEInSchools.