Minnesota Teachers Slam ICE Operation Metro Surge

Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s deployment of thousands of immigration agents to Minnesota in late 2025, left two U.S. citizens dead, more than 4,000 people arrested and widespread protests. Teachers reported that schools became “hunting grounds,” with agents following students of color home and using school perimeters as stakeouts.

The three‑month operation disrupted the critical period when students prepare for the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, which measure proficiency from grades three through eight and high school. Educators expect a significant decline in performance when results are released later this month, citing the climate of fear that interfered with learning.

St. Paul middle‑school science teacher Mandi Jung captured the turmoil in a video that spread online, describing the experience as a “mass psychosis.” She said teachers began the year with thousands of students suddenly gone and noted that legislators had failed to pass an ICE ban in schools, allowing federal agents to treat schools as stakeouts and “follow brown children home.”

A June Human Rights Watch report described the operation as marked by racial profiling, harassment and surveillance. Nearly two‑thirds of the immigrants arrested had no prior U.S. criminal history, and the report said the raids spread terror and chilled residents’ rights to expression, assembly, education and health. Despite protests, the Department of Homeland Security defended the tactics, asserting that ICE does not target schools and that arrests would only occur if a dangerous individual entered a school.

An online survey of 4,460 teachers conducted by Education Minnesota found that 72 percent were affected by Metro Surge, rising to 93 percent in the Twin Cities. The survey reported increased absenteeism, heightened student fear and anxiety, and a 1,700‑student mid‑year drop across 29 districts. Union leaders urged state officials to contextualize upcoming assessment data, noting that the trauma from federal raids will likely lower scores. Education Minnesota has partnered with the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers to provide counseling and mental‑health training for educators, while the state prepares to publish the 2025‑2026 assessment results and issue an official response.