Despite the draw down of federal agents in MN, ICE continues to terrorize students and families in schools around Minneapolis, where superintendent Brenda Lewis spends her days patrolling for ICE in and around the schools in her district. She has cancelled school days when her staff feels like it’s unsafe to come in, put up signs to make sure federal agents know they are not allowed to use school parking lots as staging areas for raids, offered ongoing online learning to families in her district who feel like they can’t leave their houses, and has been followed by agents while patrolling.
“Our families are probably going to be our best tellers of if they feel safe or not,” Lewis said. “I think I gave myself a little bit of false hope that I thought today (the surge) would be, like, done. And then when those reports (of ICE activity) came in, it just … hurts your soul.” Lewis continues to work with her staff on a daily basis around how they can keep families in the district safe. It’s an ongoing battle they feel like they haven’t gotten a rest from since the surge started.