A group of Minnesota school districts and educators has asked a judge to order federal officers to stay away from schools, alleging that the nation’s largest immigration operation has spilled onto campuses, affecting attendance statewide, according to a lawsuit filed against the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday morning.
The lawsuit rebukes the agency’s aggressive immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and St. Paul — its largest operation so far in a campaign to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants.
The public school districts in Fridley and Duluth, along with Education Minnesota, an 89,000-member teachers union, accuse federal officers of breaking a promise to stay away from schools. While DHS claimed in September it was not raiding or targeting schools, officers have “conducted enforcement operations in or near schools and school buses, and detained minor students,” according to the lawsuit.
Federal officers last monthtackled people outside Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis and released chemical irritants as classes dismissed. Since Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were deployed to Minnesota for “Operation Metro Surge” in December, they have detained at least four children in Minnesota, including a 5-year-old boywho was returning from school.
“This conduct has caused direct harm to the regular functioning of school districts and teachers, as well as the students they serve,” the lawsuit claims, adding that schools across Minnesota have reported drops in attendance. Some districts, including Minneapolis, St. Paul and Fridley, have offered students virtual learning.
During the crackdown in Minnesota, ICE officers have shot and killed two American citizens, sparking protests across the state and throughout the country.
DHS’s actions “have significantly impacted the ability of school districts and teachers to provide access to educational services and a safe learning environment,” the lawsuit says.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Donald Trump reversed more than a decade of policy his first week back in office last year, saying the administration will no longer direct immigration agents to avoid “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals and churches.
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