‘Kids literally disappeared’: Minnesota schools lost at least 1,700 students following Operation Metro Surge

One January night, 13-year-old Alessandro, his parents and his two younger sisters slipped out of their St. Paul home. They brought only diapers for the baby and a small suitcase of clothes they grabbed in a hurry, leaving everything else behind.

Thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had come to Minnesota as part of an aggressive campaign to arrest as many immigrants as possible. For two months, the Honduran immigrant family hadn’t left their home even to buy groceries, while throughout the Twin Cities ICE arrested parents at school bus stops and children returning from school.

And now, ICE had come knocking at their door. Days later, the family escaped in the night, heading east to New York City. Alessandro sent a goodbye message to his favorite teacher, saying he hoped to someday return to Battle Creek Middle School.

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