MANKATO — Minnesota schools have been in the spotlight in 2026, though not, perhaps, for the reasons they’d like to be.
With the increased presence of federal immigration officers across the state, many are worrying about the safety of themselves, their teachers and the students. It’s no different in Mankato.
“This is very real. This is not some theoretical exercise that’s happening in some other state (or) in some other cities. We absolutely, on a regular basis, are in contact with families that are scared to send their kids to school. Regardless of your politics, that is unacceptable,” Mankato Sup. Paul Peterson said.
Those fears and concerns came at an opportune time for many in Mankato, as the school district held their annual legislative panel with state lawmakers. The meeting allows district officials, students and parents to speak directly with their legislators in St. Paul and express their concerns. This year, the lawmakers in attendance were Rep. Luke Frederick, DFL-Mankato, and Sen. Nick Frentz, DFL-North Mankato.
They both began speaking about the state’s budget forecast, set to come out sometime this month, but when the floor was opened for questions, the topic quickly changed to one item: ICE.
“It’s a direct impact on our kids’ ability to be comfortable and make our families feel safe. It runs directly counter to what the Mankato area has always been about, which is inclusive community,” Frentz said, addressing a question on how the state legislature can support those who feel unsafe.
One of the ways Frentz said the state could lend support is by banning any immigration official from wearing a mask while on a raid; it’s a move resembling one recently taken by other states such as Maine.
“Is that a huge step? No. But … the question I would ask is if we have faith in local law enforcement, and they don’t wear a mask, why are you here in our state with a mask on and what message do you want to send to our people,” Frentz said.
Both Frentz and Frederick also took that question to outline their views on how the community should respond to ICE’s presence.
“I am not an advocate for violent reactions to ICE raids. I think the smarter path is to peacefully protest in the same way Martin Luther King said we should and achieved historic results when he led people in that way,” Frentz said. “When we subfire buildings, when we interfere with federal law enforcement, now we’re in a little bit different area, where I don’t know that the people of southern Minnesota, the people of Minnesota or the country are all the way with us.”
It’s a stance Frederick gave some pushback to.
“I don’t believe strong worded letters are going to stop any of this. I don’t think a tweet by me is going to do anything,” Frederick said. “Nick mentioned that you can’t interfere with law enforcement. I struggle hearing that because, on one hand, we want our law enforcement to be able to do their job and not get in their way. But we also are witnessing an Orwellian style of leadership coming from the federal government that is saying, literally, everything is interfering. That exercising our constitutional rights is interfering with law enforcement.”
As for what’s happening locally, Peterson says the district is in constant communication with parents about how to best meet the moment. If that requires students staying home, they’ll let them.
“We’re treating every family as individuals that they are. This is not one size fits all. We are working with individual families … to make sure that we’re getting them what they need for their education,” Peterson said. “In some cases that means delivering instructional materials to them. In other situations, it means having to figure out different online solutions.”
At the state level, Frederick says one challenge they’ll face is the tight margins in the house. With a tie between the two parties, any legislation they pass will need to be bi-partisan. That could be an issue with a partisan trend Frentz pointed out.
“There’s no law that says members of one party can’t vote for another party. To my knowledge, nobody broke from their own party in the house this last session. I wish they would sometimes,” Frentz said, adding that he suspects it’s an issue on both sides of the aisle.
One final question was asked about how students can push for the things they want to see happen, coming from a MAPS student. Both Frentz and Frederick laid out how important students voicing their beliefs is.
“Your voice does count. Do you think politicians care about the next group of 18-year-olds that are going to go to the ballot box,” Frentz asked hypothetically. “Are you kidding me? They’re going to vote for 50 or 60 years. We’re dying to know what they say.”
The panel isn’t the only time that the district or their leaders have interactions with state lawmakers. In fact, both Peterson and Frederick made reference to constant communication, including emails and text messages shared from the house or senate floor.