Is ice arresting kids at school
Executive summary
Public reporting and official statements paint a mixed but clear picture: DHS and ICE assert that they do not “raid” schools or go to schools to make arrests of children [1], yet recent local reporting documents agents conducting enforcement actions on or immediately adjacent to school property — including arrests of staff and detentions after dismissals — and members of Congress and civil‑rights groups say K–12 students have been detained and deported in separate incidents [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. What officials say: a categorical denial from DHS
The Department of Homeland Security has publicly stated a policy that ICE is “not conducting enforcement operations at, or ‘raiding,’ schools” and that “ICE is not going to schools to make arrests of children,” language meant to reassure school communities and set enforcement boundaries [1].
2. What journalists and witnesses report: operations at or near schools
Multiple local news reports from Minneapolis document federal agents — ICE and Border Patrol — entering Roosevelt High School grounds or operating immediately outside the campus during a heightened enforcement period, with witnesses saying staff were detained and students exposed to crowd‑control tactics while DHS disputed the use of tear gas [2] [3] [4] [6].
3. Arrests of school employees and nearby detentions have been documented
Reporting by Sahan Journal and local outlets describes a school staffer detained by agents shortly after dismissal and other neighborhood detentions connected to enforcement activity near the school; school officials canceled classes citing safety concerns [3] [7] [6].
4. Separate allegations of children being arrested or deported exist outside the “school raid” frame
Lawmakers and watchdogs have highlighted cases where K–12 students — including very young children — were arrested or deported in contexts that did not necessarily involve ICE conducting a targeted raid inside a classroom, prompting congressional letters seeking answers about patterns of enforcement affecting students [5].
5. National context: aggressive enforcement, mixed data, and contested narratives
National reporting shows DHS has stepped up aggressive enforcement operations and public communications portraying arrests of the “worst of the worst,” while independent data and journalists indicate many detained do not have criminal records and that enforcement footage and tactics are reshaping public perception of where and how arrests happen [8] [9] [10]. Observers and advocates argue the surge in operations has made school communities anxious and prompted walkouts and policy advisories from districts [11] [10].
6. Legal and policy boundaries — and the practical gray areas
DHS’s stated policy against arresting children at schools sets a formal boundary [1], but courts, civil‑rights groups and local reporting indicate enforcement can and does occur in public spaces near schools, and agencies sometimes enter school grounds if, officials say, a dangerous suspect seeks refuge there; that creates gray zones where students, staff and families experience enforcement even if children are not the intended targets [1] [10].
7. Bottom line — a precise answer to the question “Is ICE arresting kids at school?”
The evidence in this reporting does not support a broad, systemic practice of ICE publicly admitting to organized “raids” inside classrooms to arrest children; DHS denies such operations [1]. However, multiple credible local accounts and official concerns show ICE and related federal agents have conducted enforcement actions on or immediately adjacent to school property, have detained school staff and neighborhood residents during dismissal times, and lawmakers report individual cases of K–12 students being arrested or deported — meaning children and school communities have been directly affected by enforcement even when agencies insist they are not targeting schools to arrest kids [2] [3] [4] [5] [6].