*** “I’m not sure how many “sins” I would recognize in the world. Some would surely be defused by changed circumstances. But I can imagine none that is more irresponsibly sinful than the betrayal, the exploitation, of the young by those who should care for them.” [ Elizabeth Janeway ]
“Even with ICE’s departure, damage to kids is already done”
[ Laura Yuen; Minnesota Star Tribune; 2/13/26]
“From bus stops to classrooms, fear is dismantling our children’s education”. [ Sondra Samuels on behalf of “Educational Partnership Coalition”; Minnesota Star Tribune; 2/3/26]
*** “The greater a child’s terror, and the earlier it is experienced, the harder it becomes to develop a strong and healthy sense of self.” [ Nathaniel Branden ]
This post is the 15th in a series describing to YOU the massive damage INTENTIONALLY done to the people of Minnesota by the Trump DICTATORSHIP’s militarized ICE occupation. The worst damage of all is likely to be to our children. Few of them will. EVER forget what they have seen, heard, experienced at the hands of ICE.
American children and youth, growing up since 1999 have had their innocence taken away, mostly by adults. School shootings and drills; social media addiction; A.I. attacks, especially on girls; ICE terrorism. We are fortunate that ANY of them are “normal.”
***. “People raised in love see things differently than those raised on survival.” [ Joy Marino ]
A] “Even with ICE’s departure, damaged to kids is already done”
3] “Repeated exposure to ..[trauma].. can change how kid’s brains develop, while increasing risks for chronic health problems, mental illness and substance abuse. Known as adverse childhood experiences, ghat bucket of trauma typically refers to things like neglect and abuse but is rapidly to include the pervasive of deportation. Toxic stress in childhood can lead to higher rates of physical conditions such as heart disease, cancer and obesity.”
11] “One thing is certain, though. Trauma has changed these kids. They will never forget, and neither will we.”
4] ” even if their parents are not detained, just the fear of that, or witnessing groups of masked, armed individuals patrolling your schools, neighborhoods and shops. – i wold classify that as an adverse childhood experience..”
10] “The couple has been here for more than two decades and has a pending application for permanent residency; their daughters are U.S. citizens. They should not have to live in terror.”
*** “In the history of mankind, fanaticism has caused more harm than vice.” [ Louis Kronenberger ]
1] “The hardest part about being locked up in his own home, says Fermin, is seeing his daughters cry.”
2]. “Thousands of children are staying home from school. They’re not socializing with friends, a development must. They’re skipping sports and other activities. In essence, they’re losing pieces of their childhood.”
5]. “We learned during COVID-19 how disastrous social isolation could be for our kids, with rates of depression and anxiety symptoms doubling during the pandemic. Still, most kids could could leave their homes to go for a walk. That isn’t the case for children in hiding.”
6] “Being holed up in a house does something to people,” said Taylor. “Kids are not getting a break. When you don’t know if someone or some entity is going to get you or your family, that’s a lot of anxiety to be holding.”
7] “Aside from the isolation, let’s not forget about the other purpose of school; learning. The deepening educational disparities are disproportionally hitting English-language learners snd other kids who can least afford to be missing school.”
8] “Struss is a member of several “moms groups” that have been problem-solving since the start of Operation Metro Surge. Every day, calls go out asking for cash to pay for kids’ clothing and rent money. So far, those needs have been met.”
9] “..districts that have been targeted by immigration agents report that kids are terrified and adults are exhausted. Tracy Xiong, a social worker for Columbia Heights schools – where several detained children, including Liam Conejo Ramos, attend. – told reporters last week that her job has changed drastically. Instead of asking for her help to navigate friendships, students ask how to cope with ICE breaking up famiies and taking away their friends.”
*** “A man of cruelty is God’s enemy.” [ Thomas Fuller ]
B] “From bus stops to classrooms, fear is dismantling our children’s education”
1]. “Research confirms that toxic stress interrupts development and harms a child’s health. Evidence shows that these adverse childhood experiences directly dismantle a student’s ability to learn. Our coalition warns that this operation has crossed a line: It is disrupting the educational system we have worked so hard to rebuild.”
***. “The roots of a child’s ability to cope and thrive, regardless of circumstances, lie in that child’s having had at least a small, safe place… in which, in the companionship of a loving person, that child could discover that he or she was lovable and capable of loving in return.” [ Fred Rogers ]
Tag: family
The Trump DICTATORSHIP – Stupidity, Cruelty, Corruption, Craziness, CV – “When ICE comes for our kids’ caregivers, no one is safe”, I
***”The children are always the chief victims of social chaos.” [ Agnes Meyer ]
This post is the first in a series to describe to YOU the effects of ICE thug activities on ordinary people. including children. The effects are often invisible – but the trauma inflicted on individuals, neighborhoods, communities, cities will NOT end when the ICE thugs and Trump DICTATORSHIP cease to DELIBERATELY cause chaos and fear.
If YOU are a decent, caring American – these posts are a WARNING TO YOU – what is happening throughout Minnesota can easily happen to YOUR state – if a FAR Right “influencer” decides to stage something that sets off “our” 13-year old president and the Rasputins around him itching for a new “crisis” they can USE to carry out their agenda.
*** “Over the past two years, we have watched politicians say and do things that are unprecedented in the United States – but we recognize as having been the precursors of democratic crisis in other places.” [Steven Levitsky, Daniel Ziblatt: “How Democracies Die.” ]
The following is from an article published January 9, 2026 [Minnesota Star Tribune] from a Minneapolis resident on consequences from the killing of Renee Good: “When ICE comes for our kids’ caregivers, no one is safe”:
8] “If the goal of immigration policy is public safety, then we must ask: safe for whom? Because my kids do not feel safer. My students do not feel safer. My neighbors do not feel safer. The trust that holds communities together is eroded every time ICE treats schools, day cares and family spaces as acceptable hunting grounds.” [ T. B. ]
5]. “As a teacher, I see the ripple effects immediately. Kids carry stress in their bodies before they can articulate it in words. Fear shows up in acting out, withdrawal or sudden academic struggles. When immigration enforcement operates with shock-and-awe tactics, children absorb the message that the adults in their lives can vanish at any moment. That is not safety. That is trauma.”
7] “Supporters of aggressive ICE actions often claim they are about law and order. But there is nothing orderly about ripping caregivers from children or conducting operations that blur the line between civil enforcement and criminal abduction in the eyes of the community. When people in my neighborhood say ICE “kidnapped” someone, they are not being hyperbolic. – they are describing the lived experience of sudden. unexplained disappearance enforced by armed authority.”
1] “The adults call it an “enforcement action.” My kids experienced it as something much simpler and more terrifying: a familiar, caring adult disappeared without warning. To them. – and to many of us parents. – it felt like a kidnapping.”
2] “I’ve spent my career teaching kids teamwork, trust and resilience. Yet nothing in my training prepared me to explain why someone who helped care for my children could be taken away in front of their workplace, with no regard for the children who depend on them.”
3] [This] ..”..is not happening at the border….It is happening at day cares, apartment buildings, job sites and on sidewalks. It is happening in places that are supposed to be safe.”
4] “The day care staff member who was taken is not a headline or a statistic. They are someone who greeted my kids by name, who wiped tears, tied shoes, and helped create the stable environment every child deserves. When ICE removes someone like that, they don’t just target an individual – they destabilize families, workplaces and entire neighborhoods.”
6] “Living in south Minneapolis, I have watched these tactics reshape the metro area. Parents are afraid to drive. Workers are afraid to report abuse and unsafe conditions. Families hesitate to attend school events, seek medical care or call for help in emergencies. This is not an unintended side effect. – it is the predictable result of an enforcement strategy built on fear.”
9]. “Immigration enforcement that traumatizes children and destabilizes communities is not a solution. – it is a moral failure.”
10] “Our kids are watching. They are learning what power looks like, and who it protects. We owe them better lessons than this.” [ T. B. ]
With Justice For All 