‘Haunting and Taunting’: Federal Agents Near Schools Are Changing the Landscape of Learning

Educators and Democrats are warning that the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration operations are taking a toll on students and their communities.

The unprecedented scale of immigration operations over the past year has forced school districts to quickly adapt. School districts are filing lawsuits, disseminating “know your rights” information and implementing rapid-response protocols in case enforcement action happens in their neighborhoods.

The operations by federal agents have created what several education experts and advocates referred to as an atmosphere of fear, even for citizens and other legal residents.

“When kids are surrounded by fear, it creates chronic, toxic stress—interfering with learning, with trust, with a child’s sense of safety and belonging,” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, told NOTUS in a statement. “That means knowing that students have a legally protected right to an education regardless of immigration status, that schools generally cannot share student information without proper legal process, and that due process matters—for everyone.”

In Minnesota, the current epicenter of the Trump administration’s immigration raids, federal agents are more emboldened to enter spaces near schools.

But the fear around attending school extends beyond the presence of federal agents. Columbia Heights Public Schools in Minnesota closed their doors on Monday when multiple schools received a bomb threat after 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was released from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. The boy made national headlines when he was detained alongside his father.

At the beginning of the second Trump administration, the president rescinded a Biden-era memo that designated “sensitive areas” such as schools, hospitals, churches and food banks as places where federal agents could not engage. While federal agents are not entering schools, the schools are feeling the policy change on the ground.

“ICE vehicles are constantly, constantly haunting and taunting schools, thereby pulling up on their space, like through their drive through, or their delivery gates, sitting outside or sitting across the street, just sort of watching what’s happening,” said Minnesota state Sen. Mary Kunesh, who represents the Columbia Heights school district where Ramos and at least three other students have been arrested by federal agents.

On Wednesday, two Minnesota school districts and Education Minnesota — a teachers’ union — sued the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials for their actions on or near school grounds. They are arguing that federal agencies used to consider spaces like schools and churches a “sensitive location,” and only entered them for immigration enforcement purposes if there were no other options. But now, they said, the federal government is making arrests at school bus stops, school parking lots and locations near school grounds.

According to the lawsuit, some Minnesota school districts have offered online learning options as a result of the immigration raids, created volunteer networks to walk children to school and increased mental health services for students experiencing anxiety or trauma. At times, for the youngest children, it has also meant keeping recess indoors.

Now, particularly in Minnesota, students, teachers and families have felt unsafe showing up to places of learning, which the lawsuit states has led to attendance drops and forced school cancellations.

At Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis, federal agents arrested two staff members and sprayed chemical agents on student bystanders, according to the lawsuit and video footage captured at the scene. Operation Metro Surge has been ongoing in the Twin Cities since December 2025, and residents have dealt with a federal agent presence that outnumbers the local police in the Twin Cities.

At the height of the operation on Jan. 9, just two days after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by federal agents, half of the Spanish-speaking student population and a quarter of Somali students did not show up to school in the St. Paul Public School district, the lawsuit states.

These disruptions have been criticized by organizations and teachers unions across the country.

“As educators, we have a moral and professional responsibility to keep all students safe, no matter where they were born or who they are, both in school and in their communities,” Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said in a written statement.

One of those adjustments has been offering online learning options for students who are afraid to attend school.

“We want our students in school, but it’s just what we have to do right now when we have ICE agents circling our school properties or waiting at bus stops,” Monica Byron, the president of Education Minnesota, told NOTUS prior to the lawsuit filing.

DHS’ position on the matter is similar to statements made in September of last year, before agents had entered the Twin Cities.

“ICE is not going to schools to arrest children—we are protecting children,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to NOTUS on Wednesday. “If a dangerous illegal alien felon were to flee into a school, or a child sex offender is working as an employee, there may be a situation where an arrest is made to protect public safety. But this has not happened.”

This is not just a Minnesota issue. There have been major immigrant enforcement operations in several U.S. cities throughout the second Trump administration, including Los Angeles, Portland, Oregon, Chicago and New Orleans.

Spokespersons for Chicago Public Schools and the Los Angeles Unified School District told NOTUS they would never allow federal agents to enter school buildings without a warrant.

“Last year, [Chicago Public Schools] was made aware of federal law enforcement activity near several schools; However, no incidents occurred inside any CPS buildings. School remains the safest and best place for students,” a spokesperson for the school district told NOTUS in a statement.

The spokesperson also said that teachers are trained on how to respond to situations when agents request access to school buildings or students, a position that LAUSD echoed.

“We do not allow federal agents onto school campuses without a valid judicial warrant,” a spokesperson for LAUSD said. “Our schools remain safe zones, and staff are trained on district protocols to ensure consistency, clarity, and calm should questions or concerns arise.”

In Los Angeles, federal agents attempted to enter two elementary schools last spring but were denied because they did not have a warrant, according to Maria Miranda, the elementary vice president of United Teachers Los Angeles.

“It’s been a year now, and yes, the height was in the summer. But we also have had a continuous immigration enforcement, which has really impacted the social-emotional health of our students,” Miranda said. She described students and staff as “hypervigilant,” both in their neighborhoods and on school grounds.

“I think folks need to learn from the lessons that have taken place in these different cities, and prepare. Because no one should be caught off guard,” Miranda said.