Lawsuit Seeks Court Order Barring DHS and ICE Activity on or Near School Grounds
St. Paul, Minn.— A coalition of Minnesota school districts and educators filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota seeking to block the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from conducting immigration enforcement activity in or near public schools. Plaintiffs argue that recent federal actions have disrupted education, endangered students, and driven families away from classrooms. The plaintiffs include teachers’ union Education Minnesota, Duluth Public Schools (ISD 709), and Fridley Public Schools (ISD 14), and are represented by Democracy Forward, Zimmerman Reed LLP, Nilan Johnson Lewis PA, and The Law Office of Kevin C. Riach.
The lawsuit challenges DHS’s recent decision to remove longstanding protections that limited immigration enforcement activities at “sensitive locations,” such as schools, and alleges that since December 2025, following the launch of a federal initiative known as Operation Metro Surge, immigration enforcement activity has expanded rapidly across Minnesota, including in and around public schools. According to the complaint, this shift has led to school closures, activity cancellations, or a transition to remote learning. Democracy Forward successfully challenged ICE raids in houses of worship, noting that they, too, are sensitive locations, last year.
Plaintiffs argue that the threat of enforcement near schools has created a chilling effect that extends beyond immigrant families, affecting entire school communities and undermining access to public education. Attendance in several Minnesota school districts dropped sharply in early January amid heightened federal enforcement activity, with some districts reporting attendance declines of nearly one-third within weeks. In some districts, large portions of multilingual student populations were absent, while in others, attendance fell below half.
“Students can’t learn, and educators can’t teach, when there are armed, masked federal agents stationed within view of classroom windows, sometimes for days on end,” said Monica Byron, the president of Education Minnesota, the labor union of more than 84,000 Minnesota educators. “ICE and Border Patrol need to stay away from our schools so students can go there safely each day to learn without fear, and so that our members can focus on teaching instead of constantly reacting to the shocking and unconstitutional actions of federal agents.”
“The removal of long-standing protections around schools has had immediate and real consequences for our learning community,” said John Magas, superintendent of Duluth Public Schools. “We’ve seen increased anxiety among students, disruptions to attendance, and families questioning whether school remains a safe and predictable place for their children. Schools function best when families trust that education can happen without fear, and that stability has been undermined.”
Superintendent Brenda Lewis of the Fridley Public Schools said, “As superintendent, my responsibility is the safety, dignity, and education of every child entrusted to our schools. When immigration enforcement activity occurs near schools, it undermines trust and creates fear that directly interferes with students’ ability to learn and feel safe. Schools depend on stability, and that stability has been disrupted.”
The complaint describes multiple incidents in which federal agents allegedly appeared near school buildings, bus stops, and dismissal areas, causing widespread anxiety among students and educators. Plaintiffs allege that these actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act and constitutional protections, and that DHS failed to adequately consider the educational and community impacts when it rescinded prior guidance limiting enforcement in sensitive locations.
“The trauma being inflicted on children in America by this president is horrific and must end. The Trump-Vance administration’s decision to abandon long-standing protections for schools has injected fear into classrooms, driven families into hiding, and thrown entire school communities into chaos,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “This is unlawful, reckless, and legally and morally indefensible. We are in court because children should never have to look over their shoulders at school or worry that their loved ones could be taken away at the schoolhouse gate, and because the government cannot undermine decades of settled policy without regard for students, educators, or the law.”
“For decades, administrations of both parties recognized that schools are different — places where children learn, where families gather and where fear has no place,” said June Hoidal, with Zimmerman Reed LLP. “When enforcement moves into school zones, the harm isn’t theoretical. Attendance drops, instruction stops and school communities lose the stability public education depends on. Districts across the country are watching how courts draw the line around spaces dedicated to children.”
“No family should have to choose between keeping a child home from school and risking a traumatic encounter with armed federal agents,” said Amanda Cialkowski, counsel for the plaintiffs with Nilan Johnson Lewis PA. “Public education depends on trust and stability. Once that is undermined, the damage is immediate and difficult to reverse.”
The case is Fridley Public School District (ISD 14) et al. v. Noem, et al., and Democracy Forward’s legal team on this matter includes Elena Goldstein, Sean Ouellette, Allyson Scher, and Paul Wolfson.
Read the filing here.
A Spanish version of this press release is available here.
