ICE took two brothers from their school day, and families fear what’s coming next

The story out of Minnesota has intensified concerns around immigration enforcement after Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained two elementary school students from the same district as five-year-old Liam Ramos. As first highlighted by The Guardian, the brothers were taken into custody during a school day, deepening fears among families and educators already shaken by recent events.

The two boys, one in second grade and one in fifth grade, were detained along with their mother on Thursday and later transferred to a family immigration detention facility in Texas, according to school officials. Their removal has placed school leaders in the rare position of directly facilitating a federal detention involving their own students.

The incident follows the detention of Liam Ramos, a preschool student whose case has drawn national attention after he was taken into custody with his father while returning home from school. With multiple children from the same district now held hundreds of miles away, local officials say the situation has created fear and disruption across the school community.

School officials forced into an impossible role

According to Columbia Heights school district superintendent Zena Stenvik, the boy’s mother was initially detained during a court appointment related to her immigration case, a situation echoed in recent reporting on Hakeem Jeffries’s criticism of detentions. From detention at the Whipple federal building in Minneapolis, she called the school and asked that her children be brought to her because she had no other family able to care for them.

As a result, school officials themselves transported the boys to the federal facility. Stenvik said educators are not trained for this kind of situation and worked with Valley View Elementary principal Jason Kuhlman to ensure trusted staff accompanied the children to provide comfort while reuniting them with their mother inside the building.

Kuhlman described the experience as overwhelming, saying he struggled to find words for being placed in that position. He recalled that the boys were quiet until entering the Whipple building, at which point the older child became visibly upset. Kuhlman said the fifth grader appeared to understand what was happening as fear began to set in. Observers have also noted a related trend of ICE agents’ aggressive enforcement.

Another principal, Leslee Sherk, who was also present, told reporters the children appeared to be in shock. She described the facility as filled with armed security and said it was not an environment meant for children, emphasizing how frightening it would be for them.

School staff attempted to intervene by bringing the family’s immigration paperwork and asking agents whether the mother and children could be released with them. A school nurse held the boys’ hands as they walked inside, but the request was denied. Stenvik later described the experience as extremely traumatic for both the children and the adults involved.

The family has since been transferred to the Dilley family immigration detention center in Texas, meaning five currently enrolled Columbia Heights students are now being held at that facility. Local immigration attorneys are challenging the practice of quickly transferring detainees out of Minnesota, arguing it prevents families from accessing legal counsel and remaining within the state’s court jurisdiction.

School officials warn that the aggressive enforcement will have long-lasting negative impacts not just on the children who are “horrifically detained,” but also on those students “who are living in fear.” They note that many families are now choosing to learn online or simply not leave their homes because they’re afraid of being stopped. They insist that these families are not criminals and deserve to live peacefully.