Minneapolis teachers, parents denounce federal agents’ assault at Roosevelt High, demand ICE leave

On Friday morning, around 150 parents, students, and educators gathered for a press conference at Lake Hiawatha Park in South Minneapolis to demand ICE leave Minneapolis. The event took place two days after federal agents detained an on-duty school staffer and member of the Minneapolis Federation of Educators (MFE) at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis.

Only a few hours after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Minneapolis resident and mother Renee Good on January 7, federal immigration enforcement agents descended onto Roosevelt High School property during school dismissal as students were exiting the building. MFE members say that ICE agents tackled and detained a school staff member and union member who was working at the time. The agents also deployed a chemical irritant against students and staff on school grounds, MFE says. A school official, speaking to MPR News on condition of anonymity, said many students sheltered in a nearby library.

Christin Crabtree, a Minneapolis Public School (MPS) parent, witnessed the ICE events at Roosevelt High School on Wednesday. Crabtree was driving by the school when she saw what she described as federal agents creating a scene of “chaos and terror” as students were exiting the school building. “United States federal agents created an assault upon our students and community on district property, in front of the place meant to educate, nurture, inspire, and grow our future generations,” Crabtree said at the press conference. “This is not safety. This is indiscriminate violence intended to stoke fear and division.” 

Natasha Dockter, a social studies teacher in Minneapolis and MFE’s First Vice President, told the crowd, “Let me be very, very clear, immigration enforcement should never under any circumstances be on school grounds.” All students have a constitutional right to a public education, Dockter underscored, and Roosevelt students “saw this right violated by federal immigration enforcement agents.”

Dockter urged the crowd to wear whistles at all times to alert nearby community members of ICE activity and to get connected with neighborhood rapid response networks across the city. 

Minneapolis Public Schools canceled school for Thursday and Friday, with the district’s website citing safety concerns related to today’s incidents around the city. On Friday, the district announced an option for remote learning for students through February 12. 

Speaking at the press conference, MPS parent and co-director of TakeAction Minnesota Amanda Otero demanded that ICE end its operations in Minneapolis, and urged state and city representatives to use their power to end ICE activity and hold Ross, the ICE agent who killed Good, accountable.

Jennifer Arnold, an MPS parent to a second grader and a community organizer, underscored the urgency of these demands: “Our neighbors cannot leave their homes, they can’t go to work, they can’t go to school bus stops, and they can’t go to doctor’s appointments.” 

Arnold is a part of a group of MPS families organizing rides to and from school for students whose families cannot leave their homes due to threats of ICE detention. MPS parents are also coordinating food deliveries to students’ homes, patrols at school bus stops and pick-up and drop-off zones, as well as financial support for families whose primary breadwinners have been detained by ICE.

“It is through being connected and working together that we will get through this. And we will get through this,” Arnold said. 

In an interview with Workday Magazine, Crabtree said that MPS parents and educators are also calling on a moratorium on evictions during this crisis, as many parents and caregivers are unable to work due to ongoing threats of ICE activity in their communities. 

“Here is the thing I know about Minneapolis,” Crabtree said. “In this city, we love each other. In this city, we don’t only know that justice is what love looks like out loud, in this city, we actively struggle to build towards that vision everyday.” 

“Something I love most about this city is that we know how to organize,” Crabtree added. “Do not forget who we are. This is not our first time. And there are more of us than there are of them.”

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