NEMS Family Support

Mar. 8 Update: Thank you. With your help, since January we've paid over 75 total months of current and back rent plus utilities to keep impacted families sheltered.  Since January, we've also kept 75 impacted NEMS families fed with food deliveries every two weeks. And we could not have done any of that without your generosity. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

Unfortunately, we're not done. Last week, then-Secretary Noem told Congress that there are still over 600 ICE agents here. For comparison, the U.S. sent 250 agents to Chicago for "Operation Midway Blitz." But the Chicago area has 9.6 million people and the Twin Cities Metro is 3.6. ICE tactics have become less in-your-face, but more insidious. They dress in plain clothes to blend in. One female agent posed as a stranded motorist, but when a Good Samaritan came out of his home to help, agents swarmed him. Another in plainclothes has been casing business on our Central Avenue immigrant corridor. And we don't know why they keep building up their fleet of SUVs here.

That's why we're fundraising again. We need $75K to cover the anticipated March and April food, rent, and utilities need. This is still a surge unlike any other city has or is experiencing. Don’t look away. Don’t believe the lie that Operation Metro Surge ended. Please help keep our kiddos and their families safe. 

Feb. 18 Update: Despite announcements of an end to "Operation Metro Surge," we continue to see significant federal activity throughout the Twin Cities. Our students and families remain at risk, and many are very understandably still in hiding.

This uncertainty is a weight that hangs in the air. It joins us on patrol and in the grocery aisles. How long must we do this? When will our children's classmates return? What can "normal" look like after the United States occupies your home? But among all these unknowns, one thing is crystal clear: our work is not done because a federal operative says it is. It is done when every student is back in a classroom where they belong and they do not have to fear that their grownups will be stolen from their lives. That's why we still need your help. We need to raise another $60K - $130K total - by March 15 to help our families shelter through the month of March.

Here's how the math works:

• On January 12, we began buying groceries. Since then, you've purchased $15K of food for impacted families.

• On January 28, we broadened our scope to include rent relief. Since then, you've paid $46K of February rent, prioritizing those most at risk of displacement.

• Another $18K is already committed to March groceries and rent.

And the need is growing. We continue to meet needs not just from the families we've been helping since January, but also families who are just now finding us. This week, one parent wrote: Thank you for your help, I'm very grateful to you. Honestly, all this time I didn't know how to ask. Thank you, and God bless all the people of Minnesota.🙏🙏

Our students' reality is this: ICE kidnaps first and asks questions later. So we will continue to blow our whistles and we will keep standing guard at school crossing corners. And we ask you to keep sharing with our students and families—even those you will never meet—because we do not need to meet to know that we belong to each other.

Jan. 25 Update: We're reopening this fundraiser to provide continued support for families from our school community impacted by federal occupation and terror. Every day, we deepen into knowing that the only way we will get through this is together. Please join us in supporting our kids and families.

Jan. 12 Update: It has been less than 24 hours since we opened this fundraiser, and you have already all but met our goal. Thank you!!! We have temporarily closed the fund so that we can focus on getting this to the families who need it quickly and safely. Our kiddos came home today talking about who was missing from school. That reality will be with us for at least a month. Need is increasing by the day, we're building out infrastructure to meet that long haul. As we do that, though, your generosity gives us hope. We'll let you know when it's time to replenish the fund, and are grateful that you stand with us behind our students, staff, and families.

On December 1, 2025, federal Department of Homeland Security and ICE agents descended on the Twin Cities to begin ‘Operation Metro Surge.’ Just a month later, it swelled to "the largest DHS operation ever." On the same day that an agent killed Renee Good, other agents came to a Minneapolis high school during school hours, detained beloved staff, and deployed teargas on students. Minneapolis Public Schools is now allowing distance learning, but affected families are trapped. Some cannot safely reach their jobs, and funds are running low. We are neighbors and parents who are raising funds to support these families at our local public middle school because there is no such thing as other people's children.