--- title: How Schools Are Adapting to Trump’s Immigration Crackdown description: Two incidents involving immigration agents at Minneapolis schools in recent weeks have prompted teachers and students to mobilize. canonical: https://time.com/7353639/minneapolis-schools-ice-immigrations/ author: Philip Wang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-01-20T19:13:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T08:13:51.580Z article:section: Politics og:title: How Schools Are Adapting to Trump’s Immigration Crackdown og:description: Two incidents involving immigration agents at Minneapolis schools in recent weeks have prompted teachers to mobilize. og:url: https://time.com/7353639/minneapolis-schools-ice-immigrations/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf86a9daf85873c7d/6998cd0293610c80f8c3050e/GettyImages-2254528527.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3900 og:image:height: 2194 og:image:alt: US Border Patrol agents detain a person near Roosevelt High School og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Schools Are Adapting to Trump’s Immigration Crackdown twitter:description: Two incidents involving immigration agents at Minneapolis schools in recent weeks have prompted teachers to mobilize. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf86a9daf85873c7d/6998cd0293610c80f8c3050e/GettyImages-2254528527.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # When ICE Comes to School: How Teachers and Students Are Adapting to Trump’s Immigration Crackdown > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=07100d5b-4bb0-40ee-b137-27bb5521f73f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Minneapolis Mayor Frey Responds After Vice President Vance Blames Local Officials for Unrest [Watch (HLS stream): Minneapolis Mayor Frey Responds After Vice President Vance Blames Local Officials for Unrest](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/av8AWBaO.m3u8) (5:26)  _Published 2026-01-23. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday blamed “far-left people” and state and local law enforcement officials for the chaos that has unfolded during the White House's aggressive deportation campaign. Vance insisted that he was in Minnesota to calm tensions, and said the Insurrection Act wouldn’t be needed “right now” in Minneapolis after meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the city, which has emerged as a national focal point in the clash over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, other local officials, the city's police, religious leaders and the business community, have pushed back against the federal action that coincided with community outrage, after an agent fatally shot Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, during a confrontation earlier this month._  by [Philip Wang](https://time.com/author/philip-wang/)  ## Philip Wang Jan 20, 2026 7:13 PM UTC Vice President JD Vance on Thursday blamed “far-left people” and state and local law enforcement officials for the chaos that has unfolded during the White House's aggressive deportation campaign. Vance insisted that he was in Minnesota to calm tensions, and said the Insurrection Act wouldn’t be needed “right now” in Minneapolis after meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the city, which has emerged as a national focal point in the clash over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, other local officials, the city's police, religious leaders and the business community, have pushed back against the federal action that coincided with community outrage, after an agent fatally shot Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, during a confrontation earlier this month.  by [Philip Wang](https://time.com/author/philip-wang/)  ## Philip Wang Jan 20, 2026 7:13 PM UTC In the hours after the killing of Minneapolis mother [Renee Good earlier this month](https://time.com/7346997/ice-shooting-renee-good-minneapolis-911-calls-incident-report/), teachers at Roosevelt High School, some three miles away, were holding a meeting to discuss the impact it might have on the students. It was at that moment that federal agents arrived. “Most of the staff got up and ran outside, and we came out to a very confusing, loud scene, a bunch of trucks, a bunch of agents out there, and a lot of community members,” a teacher at the school tells _TIME_. The agents had been pursuing a woman who was not affiliated with the school in a pickup truck when the car chase ended up in front of the school property. In the chaos that followed, federal agents pepper-sprayed protesters and detained a school staffer. **Read more**: [_Judge Imposes Sweeping Restrictions on the Tactics ICE Can Use Against Protesters in Minnesota_](https://time.com/7347110/ice-minneapolis-judge-arrests/) Just a week later, ICE agents detained a parent at another school's bus stop in a suburban area of Minneapolis, according to a [statement](https://www.rdale.org/discover/news/article/~board/district-news/post/update-federal-ice-activity-within-the-district) from Robbinsdale Area Schools superintendent. Those incidents, two among many similar cases across the country, highlight how schools have not escaped the pitched battles that have erupted across the country as a result of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation effort. More than 3,000 federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection have descended on Minneapolis and St. Paul in recent weeks as part of an immigration enforcement surge. Protests against that surge, and against the shooting of 37-year-old Good, have spilled over into local businesses and schools. In response, the Minneapolis Public Schools are now offering online learning options through Feb. 12, and said it is committed to “maintaining a safe and welcoming learning environment for all of our students.” “Nobody's sure how to handle school,” the teacher at Roosevelt, who asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to speak publicly, says. ## **Teaching in a crisis** The teacher described a scene of chaos and confusion when federal agents came to the school that day. There were about 10 or 12 students present, according to the teacher. Some staff members had herded them back into the school, and some students ran into the public library across the street before the federal agents drove away. The teacher said that immediately after they saw what was happening, many people, including the assistant principal, started calling the local police, but they never arrived. “This encounter lasted for about 35 minutes. The police had received many calls that this was happening, and they did not come to the school, they did not come to the school anytime,” the teacher says. The school security staff member was released later that day. “I think local officials, local law enforcement, either don't feel like they have the authority or don't know what to do when federal law enforcement is in town,” the teacher added. _TIME_ has reached out to the mayor’s office and the Minneapolis Police Department for comment. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told local TV station KARE [in a statement](https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/ice-agents-flood-into-roosevelt-high-school-in-minneapolis/89-e0d004b0-bb3d-41b7-949c-e4867f97f7c9) that it was pursuing a U.S. citizen who was "actively trying to impede operations,” adding, “At no point was a school, students, or staff targeted, and agents would not have been near this location if not for the dangerous actions of this individual.” ## 'It's very scary' The incident at Roosevelt High School prompted students and parents to organize to protect each other’s safety, according to the teacher. “Many parents of white students or students or parents who are not as impacted by these ICE raids, have been very mobilized to patrol around the school, to help arrange rides to and from school for students who don't feel safe taking the bus,” the teacher says, adding that families who have been impacted by the ICE raids have been connecting with teachers and staff members to ask for various support, from school materials to rent and grocery deliveries. But inside the school, the teachers face a challenge of maintaining a sense of normalcy while acknowledging what’s happening outside the classroom. “I think teachers are trying to balance, how much content do they teach? How much do we talk about what's going on? How much do we allow space for kids just to focus on school work, but also being empathetic to many students who are fearing for the safety of their families, fearing for their own safety, having worries about rent or food insecurity,” the teacher says. Many students are choosing to stay home. The teacher says that about a fourth of his class is participating in online learning. While the teachers can be flexible with how to post assignments and give lessons, there is no guidance on how to teach during a crisis. “When our school shut down for COVID, it was kind of like, oh, there's this unknowable thing, and we're listening to government guidance. When the government is the one doing this to you, it's very scary. It's very isolating,” he says. ## Transcript [00:00] I wanted to meet with business leaders, [00:02] with Ice officers, with local law enforcement, [00:04] to try to understand a little bit better what's going [00:06] on so that we can tone down the temperature a little bit, [00:09] reduce the chaos, but still allow us, [00:12] as a federal government to [00:14] enforce the American people's immigration laws. [00:16] That is the purpose of my visit. [00:17] If you look at the context of what's going on, [00:19] you understand that these people are [00:21] under an incredible amount of duress, [00:23] an incredible amount of chaos. [00:25] And because of a few very far left agitators, [00:28] a lot of these guys are unable to [00:30] do their jobs without being harassed, [00:32] without being doxed and [00:33] sometimes without being assaulted. [00:34] That's totally unacceptable. [00:36] And that's one of the things that I want [00:37] to send a message to is, yes, [00:39] come out and protest, protest me, [00:41] protest our immigration policy, [00:43] but do it peacefully. [00:44] Now imagine, if you would, [00:46] your life and your perspective on law enforcement. [00:50] If you can't even go to a restaurant without [00:53] some agitators locking the door and [00:55] making you feel like your life is in danger. [00:57] That is the environment that has been created, [00:59] I think, by a lot of very frankly, [01:03] far left people, but also by some of [01:05] the state and local law enforcement officials who could [01:08] do a much better job in cooperating and working. [01:11] You know, you asked a question [01:12] about this five year old kid. [01:13] I actually saw this terrible story [01:15] while I was coming to Minneapolis. [01:17] We just left Toledo, Ohio, [01:18] this morning for an economic event. [01:21] And I see this story. [01:22] And I'm a father of a five year old, [01:24] actually, a five year old little boy. [01:25] And I think to myself, oh my God, this is terrible. [01:27] How did we arrest a five year old? [01:29] Well, I do a little bit more follow up research, [01:31] and what I find is that [01:32] the five year old was not arrested, [01:35] that his dad was an illegal alien. [01:37] And then they went when they went to arrest [01:39] his illegal alien father, the father ran. [01:41] So the story is that Ice detained a five year old. [01:45] What are they supposed to do? [01:47] Are they supposed to let a [01:48] five year old child freeze to death? [01:50] Are they not supposed to arrest [01:52] an illegal alien in the United States of America? [01:54] If the argument is that you can't arrest people [01:57] who have violated our laws because they have children, [02:01] then every single parent is going to be completely given [02:04] immunity from ever being the subject of law enforcement. [02:07] That doesn't make any sense. [02:09] No one thinks that makes any sense. [02:10] Now, you you know, there are so many of these cases like [02:13] that where if you just understand the context, [02:15] there have been a number of situations [02:16] that I've looked into personally where I say, [02:18] wait a second, we don't want ice [02:20] in arresting American citizens. [02:22] They're supposed to be enforcing [02:24] the immigration laws against illegal aliens. [02:26] So then I look into it, and I find [02:28] out that the American citizen who [02:30] was arrested took a swing at an Ice officer. [02:33] You can't have that happen. [02:34] And of course, they have to defend themselves. [02:36] And of course, they have the right to detain [02:38] somebody who assaults a law enforcement officer. [02:41] Now, this is my point. [02:43] Do we want these things to happen? [02:45] Do we want these arrests to be so chaotic? [02:49] No we don't. [02:50] These guys want at least of all. [02:51] But if we had a little cooperation [02:53] from local and federal, excuse me, [02:55] from local and state officials, [02:57] I think the chaos would go way down in this community. [03:00] So it sounds like [03:02] JD Vance is taking a whole lot of my talking points, [03:05] but not all of them. [03:07] He said, quote, come out and protest, [03:10] but do it peacefully. [03:12] That sounds exactly like what I've been [03:15] saying since the very first moments [03:17] following the shooting of Renee. [03:18] Good protest peacefully, but don't take the bait. [03:22] Don't counter the chaos of [03:25] Donald Trump with our own brand of chaos here. [03:27] And so to the extent he's telling people to [03:29] protest peacefully, we're in agreement. [03:33] Second, and quote, [03:35] we want to enforce the laws on one hand, [03:38] while on the other, making sure people in [03:39] Minneapolis are able to go about their day. [03:42] It sounds a lot to me like [03:44] he wants to be mayor of the city, [03:46] only he's only been here for two hours, [03:48] whereas we in this city have been working [03:52] through these issues and this [03:54] chaos for the last several weeks. [03:57] Uh, peace is not spraying [04:01] irritants and chemicals at peaceful protesters. [04:04] It's not detaining a five year old. [04:06] It's not dragging a pregnant woman through the streets. [04:10] You achieve peace by working directly with communities. [04:14] You lower crime by [04:16] strategically going after people that have committed it. [04:20] The vice president said he would love to be [04:22] able to send some of these agents home. [04:25] You know, there's no disagreement there. [04:28] We've been encouraging that for weeks. [04:30] So what's changed? [04:31] What's changed is the response that we're seeing. [04:35] What's changed is that we have [04:37] 3000 plus Ice agents and [04:41] border control that are on [04:43] our streets without a clear plan. [04:46] What's changed is we've got [04:47] this huge influx of what feels [04:50] like an occupation in a city in the upper Midwest. [04:54] And what's changed is that they are [04:56] arresting United States citizens. [04:59] They are detaining people that have done nothing wrong. [05:02] They're going after people exclusively [05:05] based on the fact that they look like they're Somali, [05:07] or they look like they are Latino. [05:10] And no reason beyond that. [05:12] What we are seeing is this is [05:14] more about political retaliation. [05:17] This is more about tragically [05:21] terrorizing people than it is about safety, [05:24] than it is even about immigration. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7353639/minneapolis-schools-ice-immigrations/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7353639/minneapolis-schools-ice-immigrations/"},"headline":"When ICE Comes to School: How Teachers and Students Are Adapting to Trump’s Immigration Crackdown","datePublished":"2026-01-20T19:13:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T08:13:51.580Z","description":"Two incidents involving immigration agents at Minneapolis schools in recent weeks have prompted teachers and students to mobilize.","url":"https://time.com/7353639/minneapolis-schools-ice-immigrations/","keywords":["police","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf86a9daf85873c7d/6998cd0293610c80f8c3050e/GettyImages-2254528527.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Philip Wang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/philip-wang/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf86a9daf85873c7d/6998cd0293610c80f8c3050e/GettyImages-2254528527.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US Border Patrol agents detain a person near Roosevelt High School","caption":"TOPSHOT-US-MIGRANTS-ICE","creditText":"Kerem Yucel—AFP via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/police/","name":"police"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7353639/minneapolis-schools-ice-immigrations/","name":"When ICE Comes to School: How Teachers and Students Are Adapting to Trump’s Immigration Crackdown"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Minneapolis Mayor Frey Responds After Vice President Vance Blames Local Officials for Unrest","description":"Vice President JD Vance on Thursday blamed “far-left people” and state and local law enforcement officials for the chaos that has unfolded during the White House's aggressive deportation campaign. Vance insisted that he was in Minnesota to calm tensions, and said the Insurrection Act wouldn’t be needed “right now” in Minneapolis after meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the city, which has emerged as a national focal point in the clash over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, other local officials, the city's police, religious leaders and the business community, have pushed back against the federal action that coincided with community outrage, after an agent fatally shot Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, during a confrontation earlier this month.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/av8AWBaO/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-01-23T18:11:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/av8AWBaO.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/7353639/minneapolis-schools-ice-immigrations/","duration":"PT5M26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/7353639/minneapolis-schools-ice-immigrations/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```