School leaders in Minnesota are worried after immigration agents detained four students from the same district. These incidents have left local families feeling shaken and deeply afraid.
The children taken range in age from a five-year-old preschooler to a 17-year-old high school student. In one case, the young boy was taken just after he arrived home from school. Other students were stopped while traveling to class or during separate operations.
The school superintendent says these events have caused a lot of trauma. She reports seeing agents near schools and following buses. She believes that every child deserves to feel safe at school, but many parents are now too scared to send their kids to class.
Government officials claim they are not targeting children. They say they only hold children for their safety when a parent is arrested. However, witnesses describe masked agents taking teenagers even when their parents were not there.
Lawyers for the families say they followed all the rules to enter the country legally. They emphasize that these families are not criminals. As the community deals with this crisis, staff members say their hearts are broken for their students.