Hundreds of St. Paul students walked out of classes and gathered at the state Capitol Wednesday to demand that ICE leave Minnesota.
Organizers said their fellow students are afraid and attendance in schools has dropped with the heavy presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the Twin Cities.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison speaks to students at the state Capitol building in St. Paul on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (Imani Cruzen / Pioneer Press)
“We’re out here because students are in fear of ICE coming to our schools,” said Naavi Noir, a sophomore at Central Senior High School. “They’re terrorizing our neighborhoods and they’re putting our safety on the line.”
As of Monday, no ICE or other federal agents have come to district buildings, according to St. Paul Public Schools Superintendent Stacie Stanley. However, there has been suspected ICE activity near schools, she said in a video address to families Monday. That presence has created a sense of fear, students said.
“We all see the absences in our classes of our peers. We all feel the stress,” said Sofía Gonzalez, a senior at Como Park High School. “Teachers, too. They’re figuring out what to do and how to go on with lessons. But none of this is normal, so it’s hard to act like it is.”
Minneapolis public schools were closed for two day last week and activities canceled after a report of armed U.S. Border Patrol officers at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis. Minneapolis students returned to in-person classes Monday, with the option to choose remote learning through Feb. 12.
St. Paul public school students who feel unsafe attending class in person due to the immigration enforcement action in the Twin Cities can enroll in the district’s SPPS Online School, according to district officials. The online school enrolls students K-12.
Keith Ellison: ‘We sued them because they are breaking the law’
Attorney General Keith Ellison spoke to the students at Wednesday’s gathering about joint legal action against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and related agencies brought by Ellison and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The lawsuit, announced on Monday, alleges violations of the First and Tenth Amendments, the Equal Sovereignty Principle, and the federal Administrative Procedure Act.
“We sued them. We sued them because they are breaking the law,” Ellison said. “They are breaking the law. Now let me tell you, this escalation, this surge which is resulting in not only people being beat up, not only people being thrown to the ground, not only people not going to school, not only people not going to work, but it’s resulted in the death of one of our neighbors, Renee Good. I want you to remember her name. She’s a martyr, she sacrificed.”
Good died trying to help vulnerable members of the community, Ellison said.
‘Fear in our community’
Students who rallied at the Capitol said the immigration enforcement is causing a lot of fear among their fellow students.
“There’s a lot of fear being built in our community and like you’re not able to go to school in the normal environment that you would right now,” said Tesfaamlak Sturm, a senior at Central Senior High School. “So, students of color, students who are members of vulnerable communities are really at risk right now. So, we feel the need to advocate for those students.”
Walking with the students were parents and community members, acting as “marshals” to keep the students safe.
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Some volunteers have similarly stood outside schools while students have left during dismissal time, such as at Central Senior High School or Highland Park Middle School and Highland Park High School, watching in case ICE shows up.
“I don’t think it’s right. I think they’re inflicting a lot of fear and trauma. All they’re causing is harm,” Gonzalez said. “They’re not here to enforce laws. They’re quite literally just enforcing fear. And we want them out.”
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