How ICE enforcement affects Twin Cities child care

As federal immigration agents continue their two-week surge in the Twin Cities, child care centers, especially those serving the Somali community, are feeling the impact. Their students are asking hard questions, and their businesses could be at risk.

Here’s what you need to know.

What are providers saying?

The child care providers MPR News reached out to were afraid to speak on the record out of concern for their students and families. One provider, Ifrah, agreed to an interview as long as MPR News didn’t use her last name, because she feared her center would be targeted. 

Ifrah said the kids she cares for are asking hard questions, and there’s a lot of anxiety.

“They see the fear in their parents' eyes,” she said. “They're scared as well, you know, they're just wondering what's going on. They're like, ‘Is somebody going to come into the daycare and take us? Are they going to break in? Are we going to get killed?’

“They just — the kids are distracted. They're not even learning. They're not focused. They're more looking at their back, looking around them, looking at the windows. They're fearing for their lives.”

What’s the impact on children?

Ifrah and others connected to kids and the Somali community are increasingly concerned about the long-term impact the immigration enforcement surge will have on kids. She said some of the children in her center have close family members or friends who have been detained by immigration officials for investigation.

“It just will bring a lot of memories for children to have to remember a moment where, as a child, you have to experience the president of the United States call you garbage and call your whole community garbage,” said Khalid Omar, who works with the Twin Cities group ISAIAH and other early childhood nonprofits. “It’s something that is inhumane.”

Is it affecting the providers in any way?

Yes. Ifrah, who’s of Somali heritage, has been in Minnesota since 1993 and is a legal citizen. But she said she's still scared for herself and her business.

“The people that bring their kids to me are now scared to bring their kids,” she said. “They're scared to come out of their houses. They're scared to go to work, which brings me a problem, because I can’t run my business.”

She said on a usual afternoon, she’d have about 20 kids at her center, and now she’s averaging five. She also knows this may impact families’ ability to pay for child care, because if they reach a certain number of absences, they could lose the child care benefits they get from the state.

What are child care providers doing to help kids and families?

Most centers are private property, so some have taken to putting signs on their doors or windows explaining that law enforcement cannot come in without a warrant. They’ve also been sharing information and receiving training and resources from groups like ISAIAH and Faith in Minnesota to make sure providers know their rights.

What does the state say?

A statement from the Department of Children, Youth and Families commissioner Tikki Brown said the department is committed to equity and inclusion and that “rhetoric that causes harm to our community members and undermines the contributions and value of Minnesota’s diverse communities has no place in government.”

The statement didn’t say anything about how they are communicating with providers about best practices during this time.