School drop-off and pick-up in Minneapolis looks a lot different since Immigration and Customs Enforcement came to town.
Kate Lundquist, a mother of six and a local teacher, told CNN that these days — as she’s pulling her kids out the door — she finds herself checking to see if her two adopted sons have their citizenship papers.
As the mother of a black teenager — who lives just miles from where George Floyd was killed — Lundquist said her blended family has already had tough conversations about how to interact with local police.
But, she added, it’s quite another when federal immigration agents stop people and question their right to even be in the country.
“There was one day when agents were known to pull over random people in my neighborhood — just a few blocks from my house,” she said. “Knowing that my son will be driving home from high school … how do I prepare my children for this potential danger?”
A sense of dread hangs like a fog over this diverse and united city. In the weeks since the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis and surrounding areas, much of the nation’s attention has focused on the harsh and sometimes fatal tactics of federal immigration agents.
But parents and teachers in the Minnesota communities hardest hit by the surge tell CNN the effects of the operation have spread far beyond the streets and into classrooms.
And it robs students of not only the opportunity to learn, but also their innocence.
A balloon in an empty hallway at a Minneapolis high school. – Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
“Our kids hear the whistles and they hear the car horns and they know that means there’s a bad person around,” said Elizabeth, a south Minneapolis mother who asked to be identified only by her first name.
“My kid hasn’t had a vacation since December — it’s not safe for them to be outside,” she added, “(federal agents) tear gassed a block and a half away from a school last week during dismissal.”
“I wish people on both sides of the aisle would look at these kids and see that something needs to change.”
Why don’t my friends feel safe?
Breonna Robinson’s third-grade class has gradually become quieter over the past few weeks.
Robinson teaches in the Columbia Heights School District — the same district where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father were detained by ICE last month.
Although the preschooler and his father were released from custody this weekend, many families in their community remain fearful that the same could happen to them as long as the operation continues.
The district said in addition to Liam, five other students were detained in recent weeks and classes were canceled Monday while local police investigated bomb threats sent to schools in the district.
In December, Robinson said she began to notice that some of her students — who were normally engaged and excited to learn — began to withdraw.
Her classroom is like an ecosystem, she said, where “everyone’s personality matters; everyone has something to contribute.”
As federal agents stepped up activity in Minneapolis, Robinson said some of her students began describing how terrified their parents were. And after the holidays, she added, many of those same students didn’t return to class.
Liam Ramos’ school cubby still held his personal belongings while he was detained. – Obtained by Erin Burnett OutFront/Roosevelt Mansfield/Columbia Heights Public Schools
A photo of Liam Ramos’ cubby at school. – Obtained by Erin Burnett OutFront/Roosevelt Mansfield/Columbia Heights Public Schools
Then, the fatal shootings began – first Renée Good; then Alex Pretti.
Now, Robinson said, many undocumented parents at the school — and indeed in Minneapolis — are too afraid to leave their homes for a simple grocery run, let alone take their children to school. In response, some school districts have tried to offer online classes.
“When I log in to take attendance, it shows who’s dropping out of my list because they’re going (to school) online, and it’s like 20 percent of my class is missing it,” she said.
And their absence has been felt especially by their classmates, who Robinson said now pester her with questions like, “What are ICE agents? What is their job? What isn’t their job? And why don’t my friends feel safe when they come to school anymore?”
“At first, I tried to soften the way I talked about the situation, but I found I couldn’t do that anymore,” Robinson said, because most of her students are exposed to the news and their parents’ conversations.
“So I have very difficult and honest conversations with eight- and nine-year-olds.”
Of course, Robinson said, that’s not how he envisioned his second year of teaching.
Raids leave a “palpable” weight.
Last month, the state of Minnesota sued several Trump administration officials for increasing the number of immigration agents. The lawsuit argued that the increase in federal agents is a violation of the 10th Amendment — and Minnesota’s state sovereignty — and focused on the impact immigration enforcement has had on the state’s core government functions, including public schools.
Over the weekend, a federal judge rejected a request to temporarily halt the operation that has sent thousands of agents to the state. But the impact of the raids extended beyond the Twin Cities.
In Rochester, Minnesota’s third-largest city, school superintendent Kent Pekel told CNN that more than 500 students were absent in his district in January compared to the previous month.
Pekel said his district has a large Somali population, and when you look at the demographics, absenteeism has skyrocketed especially among students whose first language is not English and those of Latino descent.
Two children draw coloring books inside a safe house in Minneapolis on January 16, 2026, where their family moved them after their mother and grandmother were detained earlier that month by federal immigration agents. – Jack Brook/AP
“I think for all the students and staff, there’s just a gigantic psychological weight that’s really palpable,” he said. “I’ve had teachers email me and just say, ‘I don’t know how I can teach right now.'”
But they keep showing up, he added, because they care deeply about their students and their families.
Pekel said he has worked in education for decades, and while illegal immigration has always been a divisive issue, there was a tacit agreement that students should not be caught in the crossfire.
“The only point of agreement among most people was: We have to educate the children,” he said. “It broke down in such a profound way.”
Education Minnesota, a leading advocate for public education in the state, called on ICE to stay away from local schools and argued that their actions put “students and educators at grave risk.”
“This disruption comes on top of the ongoing fear and emotional harm that students experience when ICE operates in their communities,” said Monica Byron, the organization’s president.
As both a teacher and a parent, Lundquist said the ICE arrests have changed the way he feels when he greets his students each morning.
“When I say, ‘I’m happy to see you. I’m so glad you’re here,’ I mean it deep down,” she said.
“When those babies are in our building, it’s a win for today because they’re in a safe place with us — they got to school and didn’t have to hide.”
A sign reading “Protect Your Neighbors” is displayed near a bus stop as a school bus passes by Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. – Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio/AP
“Children don’t deserve this”
Like many children in Minneapolis, Elizabeth said her child’s young life was punctuated by tragedies that marred the landscape of their hometown.
George Floyd was killed a few steps from their kindergarten. Not to mention the assassination of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman or the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church last summer. And now, Pretti and Good have both been killed a few miles away from their home.
The compounding tragedies, Elizabeth said, have forced her family to have tough conversations about life, death and how people in uniform don’t always treat black and brown families the same.
But in the wake of each tragic event, nearly everyone who spoke to CNN said they’ve also seen an increase in community support.
After school, Robinson said the lunchroom turns into a food pantry as teachers and staff work to pack canned goods, produce and other food for students whose parents didn’t feel safe enough to leave their homes.
The teachers, she said, delivered the food on their own time.
“I think it’s just the Minnesota spirit to step up when people need you,” Robinson said.
A volunteer is organizing a food pantry at a Minneapolis coffee shop that has served as a resource for those affected by the increase in ICE operations. – Erica Dischino/Reuters
Elizabeth has joined a network of local parents who monitor school pick-up and drop-off and help drive students home safely.
As the kids pile into the car and sing along to “KPop Demon Hunters” in the back seat, Elizabeth told CNN that she often finds herself sneaking glances in the rearview mirror and wondering: Are there agents in that car? Does that SUV have out-of-state tags? Are we being followed?
She admits it’s the kind of vigilantism you’d expect to see dramatized in a high-stakes thriller; but she said that, unfortunately, it has become the norm.
“I just have to be aware that I have precious cargo in the car and make sure no one is following us,” she said. “It makes me want to protect my community more, which is why we need ICE in our schools.”
“Kids don’t deserve this.”
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