A pair of Minnesota school districts this month revived legal activity in their push to keep ICE officers away from schools.
The districts hope the new academic year isn’t a repeat of last winter. The immigration crackdown in Minnesota drew condemnation for disrupting day-to-day school activities last year. The Fridley and Duluth districts recently filed a court motion seeking to overturn a Department of Homeland Security policy which no longer considers schools as sensitive locations.
Brenda Lewis, superintendent of Fridley Public Schools, remarked during an August school board meeting how colleagues around the U.S. are monitoring the issues and how area districts respond.
“People know our district and how our community pulled together to protect our children. And then they’re like, ‘Well, if that can work with you, it can work anywhere,’” Lewis explained.
The lawsuit was filed in February and a preliminary injunction was denied in May. Legal analysts stressed the court indicated the ruling was not a comment on the merits of the case.
As criticism over ICE tactics at or near schools mounted, DHS said it was not targeting school sites and said enforcement surrounding them was expected to be rare. Renewed concerns come as new data showed ICE arrests trended higher this summer.
Whether schools come up with additional ways to shield students from ICE activity, administrators warn it is a big drain on resources.
Amanda Venta, a licensed child psychologist and director of the Youth and Family Studies Lab at the University of Houston, said as schools welcome back students, they should maintain relationships with grassroots organizers in the community.
“What we saw at the end of the last school year was really schools and parents and local communities mobilizing to protect those families. So, if that meant picking up other people’s kids from school, (or) we saw people providing groceries to one another,” Venta reported.
Venta added schools are often a place for kids to access mental health services and encouraged administrators to ensure counselors and social workers are well-positioned to handle immigration-related trauma.
“Putting their heads in the space of, ‘This is an ongoing stressor that I can’t make go away for this child but I can sit with them, cope with them,’” Venta urged. “Teach them some skills to be able to manage their emotions in the classroom.”
