(From NACUA) Fridley Public School District v. Noem challenges immigration enforcement on and near K-12 and college campuses and rescission of previous “sensitive locations” immigration policy
Early last month, the National Association of College and University Attorneys (“NACUA”) shared that the public school districts of Fridley and Duluth, MN and teachers union Education Minnesota sued Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and related immigration officers for the Minnesota ICE surge that negatively impacted both K-12 and college campuses. The lawsuit alleges that Noem, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) , and ICE’s “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota, in addition to the rescission of previous administrations’ sensitive location policy, violated the Administrative Procedure Act for being arbitrary and capricious, violated immigrants’ rights, created substantial disruption to American citizens’ lives, and caused a chilling effect that undermined students’ access to education. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to prevent DHS from enforcing the new immigration policy and prohibiting immigration enforcement within 1,000 feet of school property or a school bus stop.
On Monday, February 25, 2026, the school districts and teachers union filed a request for an emergency order restoring the previous sensitive locations policy. Their request is still pending with the court at this time.