As Columbia Heights students return to class, superintendent calls for ICE de-escalation
Class is back in session Tuesday for students at Columbia Heights Public Schools, one day after a racially and politically motivated bomb threat forced them to close for the day.
Their superintendent said their focus is squarely on returning home four other students in federal custody.
For many, it was a relief to see 5-year-old Liam Ramos return home to Columbia Heights just days ago. But his Superintendent Zena Stenvik said their struggle is far from over.
"Having Liam return to his family has provided us with a glimmer of hope, but it is bittersweet," said Stenvik.
She said four other students are still in federal custody at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas.
Elizabeth Zuna, a fourth grade student, was on the way to school with her mother when the two were taken nearly a month ago, Stenvik said.
She also said dozens of parents of elementary schoolers have been taken by federal agents.
Stenvik said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been a constant presence at their schools, even staging from a school parking lot as recently as Monday.
"Every day I see the stress, tears and fear as they go into another school day," said Columbia Heights social worker Tracy Xiong. "The image of Elizabeths' father will stay with me forever . . . I watched him sit in his car, bury his head in his hands and cry uncontrollably. Those images you don't forget."
Stenvik said one district employee was stopped by federal agents every single day during their commute last week.
She said while many are hoping for de-escalation, it's not something she's seen.
"We haven't seen any de-escalation yet in our community," Stenvik said. "Yesterday morning, ICE chose to park in our school parking lot, so no, we've not seen any de-escalation at this time. That would be very welcome, though. We'd love to see a reduction in our students being stopped on their way to school, our staff being stopped on their way to school and just the lurking about in our parks and parking lots."
Tuesday afternoon, school leaders joined Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison called for an end to ICE activity on school grounds.
