Many of our communities, including schools, teachers, students, and their families, are under assault by ICE and the Border Patrol. Now, that’s occurring in the Twin Cities, where ICE agents killed Renee Nicole Good last week.

I’ve previously published accounts about the impacts of these attacks in Chicago and in North Carolina.

Good’s killing and the massive influx of ICE agents into the Minneapolis area have now brought the nation’s attention there as well.

Today’s post is the first in a three-part series in which local educators will share what’s happening in their communities, including neighboring ones like the city of St. Paul, and how they’re responding to it.

‘Fear Is a Thief of Focus’

Amy Hewett-Olatunde, Ed.D., is an award-winning educator and has been an ESL teacher and professor in the Twin Cities for almost 30 years.

To fully understand the current atmosphere at Humboldt High School and across the Twin Cities, we need to look past the statistics and inside the walls of our school. As we begin to navigate the start of 2026, ICE has transformed from a distant political headline to our daily reality that in many ways shapes how we teach, how our students learn, and how our community members are living.

At Humboldt, our strength and beauty has always been our diversity. We are a microcosm of St. Paul. We are a blend of West Side history, newer arrivals from all over the world, a diverse and vibrant community. But recently, that vibrancy has dulled. When a student who is usually in class suddenly stops showing up, or when a senior once excited to go to college says they don’t want to go anymore, we know why.

Traumatic Impact

Fear is a thief of focus. It is very difficult for a student to complete a research project or complete a lab when they are constantly checking their phone for a text from a parent and the stress is just too much. They are worried that a traffic stop on Robert Street may turn into a permanent separation of family members. We are seeing an increase in absenteeism, not because students want to stay home but because families are choosing to stay inside. They are basically putting themselves under house arrest to avoid being approached by unmarked vehicles. As ICE becomes more emboldened and violent, our families have increased risk.

The trauma extends far beyond the walls of our schools. The Twin Cities are reeling from recent escalations, including the tragic shooting of Good during an ICE operation in Minneapolis just days ago. This has turned places once thought of as safe into places of high anxiety and danger.

For the families of our students, the impact is psychological and economic. Parents and guardians are missing work; this means food insecurity and unpaid rent. Current enforcement, using unmarked cars and conducting raids during school transit hours, means that even everyday errands like grocery shopping at El Burrito Mercado or walking to the bus stop feel like high-stakes gambles. Parents need to have conversations with their children and families to decide who will raise their children if they don’t come home from work.

A City Under Pressure

The tension echoes that of the murder of George Floyd and the civil unrest that followed. Minneapolis and St. Paul have always prided themselves on being welcoming cities, but it is safe to say that our identity is being tested again right now. The recent surge of nearly over 1,000 arrests has strained our local resources. School districts, including St. Paul, have had to issue statements demanding federal agents not enter school property without judicial warrants.

The physical presence of agents near schools like Roosevelt High in Minneapolis has pushed unprecedented measures, including school closures in a number of districts. The city feels fragmented, yet there is a visible increase in community “observers” and rapid-response networks (neighbors using Signal chats to warn each other of ICE sightings), among other unified efforts. While this solidarity is hugely inspiring, it is also a reminder of the state of emergency our community is living in.

The Role of Educators

As educators in this community, our roles have shifted. We are no longer solely facilitators of curriculum and school support; we are gatekeepers of safety and a primary source of emotional support. We spend our mornings checking in on the “empty chairs,” the students who are missing, and our afternoons making sure that every child has a safe way to get home. We do grocery runs, provide resources, and are constitutional observers.

The primary goal of public education is to lay a foundation for a better future. When that future is threatened by the risk of deportation, the very purpose of our work feels under siege. We are fighting to keep Humboldt a sanctuary of learning in a city that currently feels like a landscape of checkpoints.

We love our students and their families. Our support for them is unwavering. Our community stands together. They are what makes America great.

Thanks to Amy for contributing her thoughts!

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org. When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

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