A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request for a preliminary injunction that would have immediately stopped U.S. Immigration and Enforcement agents from operating near or on school grounds.
Two Minnesota school districts along with the state teachers union had filed a lawsuit asking courts to require the Department of Homeland Security to treat schools as protected areas, free of immigration enforcement.
While the request for an immediate end was denied, the case continues.
The districts, Fridley and Duluth, brought their lawsuit earlier this year as ICE agents flooded the Twin Cities in February.
School leaders argued immigration enforcement conducted near schools had damaged student attendance and enrollment. During “Operation Metro Surge,” Minnesota districts with widespread federal activity saw as many as 20 to 40 percent of students staying home from school.
Since the 1990s, the U.S. government has declared schools, hospitals and churches as safe zones, off-limits to immigration enforcement. The Trump administration rescinded that policy last year.
Lawyers for the Fridley and Duluth school systems argued the decision violated the federal Administrative Procedures Act and asked a federal court to put a temporary stay on the policy change while deciding on the merits of the case.
In her ruling, Judge Laura Provinzino, a Biden appointee, found that the plaintiffs didn’t meet the requirements necessary for the court to issue a temporary stay ahead of the final court decision.
The Fridley and Duluth school districts — along with Education Minnesota, the teachers union — said their case would continue despite losing on the immediate injunction. “This is not the end of our fight,” they said in a statement.
