Fridley’s school district and city officials remain divided over what authority the city has — and how much it should exercise — regarding the presence of federal immigration enforcement agents.
The dispute centers on the Fridley Police Department’s 2017 immigration statement, which says the department will assist federal law enforcement “when called upon.”
Jake Karnopp, chair of the Fridley School Board, said at the Jan. 26 meeting that the city had declined to apply federal and constitutional laws restricting civil immigration enforcement in school settings and had declined to collaborate with the district to keep children safe amid ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.
“Over the last several weeks, ICE has been visibly present around our schools,” Karnopp said. “They’ve been present at our bus stops. They’ve been present in our neighborhoods.”
Karnopp cited the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe, which held that states cannot deny public education based on immigration status. The 5-4 ruling struck down a Texas statute denying state funding for undocumented students and stemmed from a Tyler Independent School District policy requiring tuition from undocumented children.
He also cited the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Fourth Amendment, which he said prohibits unlawful searches and seizures, including forcible entry onto school property.
“The law is crystal clear,” Karnopp said. “ICE, DHS or any authority acting on their behalf cannot under any circumstances take children or any other persons from school district property.”
Karnopp said those laws bind agencies interacting with K-12 schools. He said cities including Robbinsdale, Brooklyn Center, Columbia Heights, Minneapolis and St. Paul had clarified their role in protecting children’s constitutional rights. Fridley, he said, had not.
“You have declined to update your 2017 immigration guidance,” Karnopp said. “You have refused to acknowledge the legal limits on ICE access to school property. And you have refused to commit to a partnership protocol with our district that ensures students and staff are protected if ICE stages on or near school property.”
Karnopp said Fridley Public Schools constructed what he described as a parallel safety infrastructure, including staging constitutional observers during arrival and dismissal, deploying additional staff daily, adding dedicated security personnel at each school, checking bus stops for ICE presence and reassigning administrators as decision-makers.
“Most recently, we’ve had to create virtual e-learning options for children too fearful to physically attend school,” Karnopp said. “As of this morning, we had 420 students signed up.”
He said the district has also been sending basic necessities to families and staff and that some multilingual staff members were afraid to drive to and from work.
“We, unlike most metro school districts, do not have assurances from our city that they will be helpers,” Karnopp said. “That they will be protectors. That they will stand between the federal agency and a child to ensure the right-to-education laws are followed.”
He added that a municipal police agency could not “selectively enforce a law” if doing so placed children at physical or educational risk.
Resident Avonna Starck said her emails to the City Council had gone unanswered except by Council Member Patrick Vescio. When she later asked for confirmation, she said she received a one-word reply: “Received.”
Starck said she had been told the city was unaware of ICE’s presence and questioned how that could be possible if agents were near bus stops and families were being “ripped apart.”
“While other communities have been proactively putting out statements, we had to beg for one,” Starck said.
Nikki Karnopp, a member of the Charter Commission and Police Advisory Commission, asked about coordination between the city and district and whether Mayor David Ostwald had additional meetings planned with school officials. She also said she had been told “on good authority” that when residents called 911 regarding ICE activity, they were told officers would not be dispatched and to ignore what they were seeing because ICE was apprehending a violent criminal.
On Jan. 30, school board member Nikki Auna wrote on Facebook that City Manager Wally Wysopal had sent a letter to the district requesting a legal opinion supporting claims made by school officials. The letter stated that if such an opinion could not be provided, the city requested the district refrain from making those statements publicly.
Auna wrote that the response amounted to silence.
“Yesterday, our superintendent was followed by ICE agents,” Auna wrote. “Three school board members, including myself, had ICE agents parked outside our homes. This is intimidation. It is real.”
Auna also wrote that Wysopal had promised to schedule meetings with the district but that those meetings had not occurred.
At the Feb. 9 City Council meeting, Public Safety Director Ryan George responded to the criticisms.
George said the department drafted its immigration stance in 2017 amid questions about whether Fridley police would assist ICE in civil immigration enforcement.
“We made it very clear that we don’t do civil immigration,” George said. “That’s not part of our mission. We legally cannot do it.”
He said the statement was drafted with the city attorney at the time and reaffirmed by the current city attorney. After recent allegations, the city also consulted its municipal prosecutor, county attorney and a third-party conflict attorney.
“All of the attorneys have confirmed that the city is not violating any laws or any individual’s constitutional rights,” George said.
In a Jan. 16 legal review, City Attorney Sara Sonsalla wrote that local law enforcement lacks authority to engage in civil immigration enforcement unless it voluntarily enters into a 287(g) agreement approved by the City Council. She wrote that no such assistance had been requested.
Sonsalla also wrote that the city assists Homeland Security Investigations in cases involving human trafficking and auto theft when those crimes cross state or international borders. Homeland Security Investigations is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a component.
George confirmed the department collaborates with federal partners on criminal investigations beyond Fridley, including human and sex trafficking and auto theft.
“Working with them not on immigration enforcement is something we’ve always done,” George said. “Not working with federal partners paints us into a corner because that’s just not feasible.”
George addressed the allegation that residents who called 911 about ICE activity were told officers would not be dispatched. He said he investigated and was later told the concerns had been communicated through text and Signal messages that were deleted.
Regarding a Feb. 4 incident at Hayes Elementary in which ICE vehicles were reported circling the school, George said no 911 call was made. Instead, a district staff member called Deputy Director Patrick Faber directly and asked that a squad car drive through the area.
Officers drove through and did not observe anyone in distress, George said.
George also said he had communicated with district officials dating back to October, including several meetings, most recently with Superintendent Brenda Lewis in November. During those discussions, he said, the district indicated it was satisfied with how matters were being handled and would reach out with further concerns.
George said the city has not received legal analysis from the district concluding that it is violating the law.
“If there are people in the community demanding the police take action,” George said, “we need people to take substantive action to engage our department. If you need something, call 911. Call me.”
In an email, Superintendent Lewis said she could not comment on attorney-to-attorney matters. She reiterated that the district remains focused on student well-being, safety and continuity of education and that communications with the city and public safety are being handled through appropriate legal and administrative channels.
In a separate email, Wysopal said there have been occasions when expectations of the Fridley Police Department did not fall within the legal bounds of officers’ authority.
“The city respects the interests and desires of the Fridley School officials regarding immigration enforcement,” Wysopal said. “We acknowledge their role in educating and protecting children under their care is similar to ours, but the laws governing our roles may not match up as being the same.”