More than 6,000 St. Paul public school students have registered to learn online in the past week as the federal government’s immigration enforcement operation continues.

St. Paul Public Schools’ temporary online learning option takes effect Thursday and the deadline for families to register was Sunday. All 69 district schools have been closed through this Wednesday to give teachers time to prepare an online curriculum. Students registering late for the virtual option may have a delayed start time. The district has 33,000 students in total.

The district introduced the temporary online learning option last week which allows students to register without transferring out of their school. Prior to that, students could request enrollment in the district’s online school if they felt unsafe attending class, which required transferring into SPPS Online School.

The percentage of students who have enrolled in virtual learning ranges from a low of 30% at some schools to up to 75% at others, said district superintendent Stacie Stanley. A school likely would need for 80% to 90% of its students to enroll in the option before moving to a fully-online option would be considered, Stanley said.

For information on the virtual learning program go to spps.org/virtual. For more information on SPPS policies on immigration issues go to spps.org.

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Federal enforcement impact

At a Tuesday night meeting board members reiterated the district’s desire and responsibility to take care of students in a time of unpredictability due to the federal enforcement activity. That includes helping students who have lost in-person classroom time catch up once they return to school, said board member Halla Henderson.

“I know that we don’t know when this will end, but I think being able to continue to reassure community that not only do we have your back, but we’re going to stand there with you and we’re going to do everything we can to protect you and to make you feel safe and to make sure that you have access,” Henderson said.

The district’s temporary learning plan will be reviewed weekly, with an end date depending on “when our children know that they can journey to and from school, when our families know that they can drop their children off safely at school, without having fear,” Stanley said.

Board members also have been working with the teachers’ union to ensure real-time virtual learning for students, citing negative impacts that virtual learning has previously had on students’ learning and mental health during the COVID pandemic.

More Spanish-speaking students absent

Approximately 55% of students who speak Spanish at home were absent from school last Friday, according to district data. That’s up from the average of 27.4% of Spanish-speaking students absent each day in the district between Dec. 1 and Jan. 8. More than 3,000 students in the district speak Spanish at home.

“ICE has been documented patrolling and targeting our language immersion schools and our immigrant dense neighborhood schools, specifically on the east side and north end,” said Sandy Velazquez, a district parent and a district Latino parent advisory council member, at Tuesday’s board meeting. “While virtual options are helpful, they do not erase the paralyzing fear parents and students feel. The fear that a loved one might disappear or, as we have already tragically witnessed, be killed.”

The presence of ICE does not just affect undocumented immigrants, Velazquez said.

“They target anyone ICE perceives as ‘other,’ whether because of their color of the skin, their accent or simply because they are standing in solidarity as legal observers,” Velazquez said. “Despite this, we see the helpers in our community. We are deeply grateful to the SPPS teachers and staff who are working overtime to support families torn apart by unjust attentions while trying to maintain normalcy for their students.”

Outreach to provide food

Meanwhile, the district also is working with community partners to make sure there is outreach to families, such as those who may need food resources as many opt to not go to work or school.

The board has also worked with state lawmakers so the district can develop a plan if U.S. soldiers are sent to Minnesota, Stanley said, something that is “not an experience that has happened in Minnesota,” in her lifetime.

“And so we are working very, very closely with our police department, their internal safety and security department to make certain that we can minimize – we are not going to be able to eliminate the trauma. Our kids are already traumatized,” Stanley said. “I receive email from students, literally – I think it would be appropriate to use the word begging – me to do something to remove the presence of ICE in our communities, not for themselves, for their friends, for their neighbors.”

Alli Kildahl with the St. Paul Federation of Educators’ immigration defense committee said the district also needs to do more to support staff working with immigrant families, online students needing access to school resources, such as school counselors, and staff who do not feel safe commuting.

That could include additional pay for bilingual staff, security for dismissal and arrival times and bus stops and financial assistance through the district’s office of Family Engagement and Community Partnerships, Kildahl said.

Board member Carlo Franco also called on the governor’s office to push for a temporary waiver on the state’s 15-day limit that requires school districts to unenroll students who have missed 15 consecutive days of instruction.

Statewide strike

Statewide, thousands of Minnesotans are expected to participate in a statewide economic strike this Friday.

However, schools will not close on Friday, officials said.

“Jan. 23 is a regularly scheduled school day for Saint Paul Public Schools. In this moment, the most powerful thing we can do for all of our students is provide the stability, safety, and continuity of their school community,” district officials said Wednesday.

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By PATRICK WHITTLE and RODRIQUE NGOWI, Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Trump administration is now targeting Maine in its mass deportation campaign, a state with relatively few residents in the United States illegally but a notable presence refugees in its largest cities, particularly from Africa.

The Department of Homeland Security named the operation “Catch of the Day,” an apparent play on Maine’s seafood industry, just as it has done for other enforcement surges, like “Metro Surge” in Minnesota and “Midway Blitz” in Chicago.

Reports of a surge in immigration arrests have struck fear in immigrant communities of Portland and Lewiston and prompted backlash from Gov. Janet Mills and other Democrats, including a refusal to help ICE agents obscure the identity of their vehicles by issuing undercover license plates.

“While we respect the law, we challenge the need for a paramilitary approach to the enforcement of federal statutes,” Portland Mayor Mark Dion said Wednesday at a news conference where he was joined by other local officials. “This council doesn’t stand apart from our immigrant communities, we stand with them.”

Portland and Lewiston have thousands of residents of African descent, including many from Somalia.

Somali immigration into Maine accelerated in the early 2000s, and the state now has one of the highest percentages of Somali residents in the country. Immigrants and asylum seekers from other countries followed.

Now the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is causing great anxiety in Portland, said city council member Pious Ali, a native of Ghana.

“Our schools have seen about a quarter of immigrants not showing up,” Ali said, and many fear going to work as well: “There are immigrants who live here who work in our hospitals, they work in our schools, they work in our hotels, they are part of the economic engine of our community.”

ICE agents don’t need to spread trauma by smashing doors and windows, he said: “The federal government has the ability to contact these people without unleashing fear into our communities.”

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Dozens of arrests

The enforcement action is arriving in Maine, a mostly rural state with about 1.4 million residents, as confrontations between ICE and demonstrators continue in Minnesota, where ICE is under scrutiny following an agent’s fatal shooting of Renee Good.

ICE didn’t respond to a request for comment Wednesday on the agency’s plans for Maine, where U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that increased enforcement began on Tuesday.

“We have launched Operation Catch of the Day to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in the state. On the first day of operations, we arrested illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child,” said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.

No new undercover license plates

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a longtime opponent of President Donald Trump, said state officials received a request from U.S. Customs and Border Protection for confidential, undercover Maine license plates and decided against issuing them. The licenses plates are used on unmarked vehicles and Bellows said she wants more assurance they will be used appropriately.

ICE’s use of license plates in other states has raised concerns: Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, a Democrat, issued a warning to ICE agents last year that swapping or altering license plates is illegal.

“These requests in light of rumors of ICE deployment to Maine and abuses of power in Minnesota and elsewhere raise concerns. We have not revoked existing plates but have paused issuance of new plates. We want to be assured that Maine plates will not be used for lawless purposes,” Bellows said.

Bellows has run afoul of Trump and his administration before. In 2023, she sought to remove his presidential candidacy from the state’s ballot, arguing that Trump had engaged in insurrection in violation of the 14th Amendment. More recently, she has refused to hand over the state’s voter rolls to the federal government.

Customs and Border Protection did not respond to a request seeking comment, but a top Maine Republican said withholding the undercover plates would jeopardize public safety.

“That really, one, puts us at odds as a state. Puts us at one end of an extreme that we really shouldn’t be on,” Senate Leader Trey Stewart said.

Maine’s top federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Andrew Benson joined Democrats in calling for any demonstrations in the state to remain peaceful and civil. Benson, a Trump appointee, warned people to stay out of the agents’ way or be prosecuted.

Mayor, governors speak out

Gov. Mills has pushed back, as have mayors, school district leaders and numerous community organizations. Mills said aggressive enforcement actions that undermine civil rights are “not welcome.”

Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline said ICE enforcement has been causing “anxiety, fear or uncertainty” for many. Portland Mayor Mark Dion and the city’s school district issued statements acknowledging it’s a nervous time for many.

“There is no evidence of unchecked criminal activity in our community requiring a disproportionate presence of federal agents,” Dion said.

Schools, Democrats call for caution

Portland Public Schools, the largest and most diverse school district in the state, said in a statement Wednesday that it conducted a “lockout” at two schools to prevent anyone from entering the building during the school day Tuesday because of concerns about ICE activity nearby.

“It was quickly determined that there was no threat to our school communities and the lockouts were lifted within minutes. This is an understandably tense time in our community, as reports and rumors of immigration enforcement actions grow,” the district’s statement said.

Maine Democrats have condemned the ICE activity.

“The Trump administration has deployed ICE agents to Portland, Lewiston, and possibly other Maine communities. This is not about public safety. It is about fear, control, and political theater,” Devon Murphy-Anderson, executive director of the Maine Democratic Party, said in a statement Wednesday.

An appeals court on Wednesday suspended a decision that restricts immigration officers’ aggressive tactics in Minnesota, while Maine declined a request for more undercover license plates for U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicles, citing “abuses of power” during the Trump administration’s crackdown.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was persuaded to freeze a judge’s ruling that bars officers from using tear gas and other steps against peaceful protesters while the administration pursues an appeal. Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, began in early December.

An injunction ordered last week by U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez harms “officers’ ability to protect themselves and the public in very dangerous circumstances,” lawyers for the government argued.

Minnesota remains a major focus of immigration sweeps by agencies under the Department of Homeland Security. State and local officials who oppose the effort were served with federal grand jury subpoenas Tuesday for records that might suggest they were trying to stifle enforcement.

A political action committee founded by former Vice President Kamala Harris is urging donors to come to the aid of Gov. Tim Walz, her 2024 running mate, and contribute to a defense fund.

“The Justice Department is going after Trump’s enemies list,” Harris’ email said, referring to President Donald Trump.

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Maine says no to special plate request

In Maine, meanwhile, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, said she won’t grant a request for confidential license plates sought by Customs and Border Protection, a decision that reflects her disgust over the tactics of immigration officers elsewhere. Renee Good was fatally shot by an immigration officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. A message seeking comment from CBP was not immediately returned.

“We have not revoked existing plates but have paused issuance of new plates. We want to be assured that Maine plates will not be used for lawless purposes,” Bellows said.

Portland Public Schools, the largest and most diverse district in Maine, said it kept the doors locked at two schools for a few minutes Tuesday because of concerns about activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“This is an understandably tense time in our community, as reports and rumors of immigration enforcement actions grow,” the district said.

Conflicts emerge in shooting incident

Greg Bovino of U.S. Border Patrol, who has commanded the Trump administration’s big-city immigration crackdown, said more than 10,000 people in the U.S. illegally have been arrested in Minnesota in the past year, including 3,000 “of some of the most dangerous offenders” in the last six weeks during Operation Metro Surge.

Bovino defended his “troops” and said their actions are “legal, ethical and moral.”

Julia Decker, policy director at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, said advocates have no way of knowing whether the government’s arrest numbers and descriptions of the people in custody are accurate.

Separately, a federal judge said he’s prepared to grant bond and release two men after hearing conflicting testimony about an alleged assault on an immigration officer. Prosecutors are appealing. One of the men was shot in the thigh by the officer during the encounter last week.

The officer said he was repeatedly struck with a broom and with snow shovels while trying to subdue and arrest Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna following a car crash and foot chase.

Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis denied assaulting the officer. Neither video evidence nor three eyewitnesses supported the officer’s account about the broom and shovels or that there had been a third person involved.

Aljorna and Sosa-Celis do not have violent criminal records, their attorneys said, and both had been working as DoorDash drivers at night to avoid encounters with federal agents.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko said they still could be detained by ICE even if released from custody in the assault case.

___

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Associated Press reporter Ed White in Detroit contributed.

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Following the success of the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival at St. Paul’s Harriet Island Regional Park, promoters have officially announced that a long-rumored country music festival will take place on the same site.

Details, however, are scarce at this point. The Minnesota Country Club Festival is set for July 10 and 11. An Instagram post promises “a weekend of roots, folk, country, Americana and a few surprises along the Mississippi” but does not reveal anything else beyond a website, minnesotacountryclubfest.com.

The Minnesota Yacht Club Festival debuted in 2024 with headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gwen Stefani and Alanis Morissette and was a hit with critics and crowds. It returned in July 2025 with an expanded three-day lineup led by Green Day, Hozier and Fall Out Boy. The festival has drawn about 35,000 people each day.

It was the first major rock and pop festival on Harriet Island since Live Nation’s River’s Edge Music Festival in 2012. Despite promising St. Paul a five-year commitment, the concert promoting giant lost enough money to convince them to pull out after a single year.

Live Nation owns 51 percent of Yacht Club organizers C3 Presents, an Austin, Texas, company that’s also behind Austin City Limits Music Festival, Voodoo Music + Arts Experience and the modern-day Lollapalooza. But Live Nation apparently allows C3 to follow its own path and use a more personal touch in staging festivals. Concertgoers have praised much about the festival, but complained about long concessions lines and inflated prices for beer and alcohol.

The Lumineers, Matchbox Twenty and the Strokes will headline the third annual Minnesota Yacht Club Festival, which returns to Harriet Island July 17 through 19.

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