Keep ICE Out of Schools

We only have a few days to do it

Right now, Congress is deciding what guardrails to put around ICE in the Department of Homeland Security budget bill. That means we have just a few days to insist that the bill blocks ICE from entering schools.

In Minneapolis, some schools are seeing fewer than 50% of their students showing up to learn each day. More than half of their students are afraid to attend school daily. The trauma and the learning loss are incalculable.

Back in 2011, the Obama administration issued a memo that said ICE can’t raid schools or churches, and the Biden administration kept that policy in place. But Donald Trump revoked that memo in January 2025, so schools are no longer off-limits to immigration officers.

Now, that doesn’t mean ICE can just march into a classroom to arrest someone — they can enter the public areas of a school like the parking lot or lobby, but school officials aren’t legally required to let them into private spaces like classrooms. That has allowed so many teachers and administrators to bravely stand between their kids and ICE.

But immigration officials can still stroll into a school without a warrant and arrest anyone in a hallway, a parking lot, or a cafeteria. And how are kids supposed to make it to the safety of their classrooms without first passing through those public spaces?

At one Minneapolis school, staff and neighbors keep a daily watch. If they see ICE agents, classroom doors are locked, and hallways are cleared until staff announce “all clear.” But despite their valiant efforts, students remain scared and vulnerable. And is this kind of lockdown really the America we want for our kids?

“A senior who can’t meet with their college counselor right now just missed support needed for major January college application deadlines. Or a second-grader with a speech delay who is supposed to be in an active in-person intervention may lose a critical window of brain plasticity. It is not dissimilar to what our nation’s children faced during COVID, but entirely avoidable.” (Rochelle Van Dijk, vice president of Great MN Schools)

Here’s what’s happening right now.

On February 3, Congress passed a deal to fund most of the government through September. However, funding for federal immigration enforcement was extended only through February 13. Right now, they’re deciding what guardrails to put on ICE and Border Patrol.

Senate Democrats have asked for some important provisions, including ending roving ICE patrols and tightening warrant requirements. But the current language does nothing to protect our children in schools, hospitals, and places of worship. It’s vital that we restore those protections.

Contact your representatives now and tell them to block ICE from terrorizing schools. Our kids are depending on it.