Detained asylum-seeking mother asks principal to bring her two young children to Whipple

Kyeland Jackson, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 29, 2026

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The mother of two elementary school students in Columbia Heights was detained during an immigration check-in Jan. 29, prompting school officials to take her children to the Whipple Federal Building at her request.

Valley View Elementary School Principal Jason Kuhlman confirmed the mother was detained Thursday morning and is currently seeking asylum.

With no one in Minnesota left to care for them, she asked Kuhlman to take her two children to be with her. The children are between 7 and 9 years old.

The eldest, who was stoic as Kuhlman described his mother’s detainment, broke into tears and gripped the school nurse when walking into the building, which is located at Fort Snelling.

“We shouldn’t have to be bringing students to a detention center because their mom was doing everything right and was detained,” Kuhlman said outside the federal building.

“We don’t know if they will be taken” to Texas, he added, as many detainees have been. “We’re praying that’s not the case.”

Kuhlman said ICE has detained mothers and fathers from 25 families at Valley View Elementary, including 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father on Jan. 20.

A congressional visit to the site revealed the health of Ramos, a student at Valley View, is deteriorating. The preschooler showed signs of lethargy and depression during Wednesday’s visit. Kuhlman worries such conditions could affect more children.

“There’s a lot of people getting sick,” Kuhlman said. “We have a fourth grader from Highland Elementary down there [in Dilley, Texas,] and then we have Liam ... and they’re both sick,” Kuhlman said. “The conditions aren’t good. It’s too crowded; they’re not getting fed well. That’s my fear.”

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery issued a temporary order to prevent officials from deporting Ramos and his father. Lawmakers heard further reports of poor conditions while visiting the Dilley Detention Center, suggesting more children there have vomited or become ill from sickness and depression.

Columbia Academy Principal Leslee Sherk says at least 14 families there have been affected by immigration enforcement. Sherk now dreads Mondays, explaining that each Monday comes with voicemails detailing parents detained by ICE.

She said she felt wrong while analyzing the conditions inside the Whipple building.

“They have cartoons on the television for all the kids that are coming in there waiting. A box of books on the floor for the kids that are in there,” Sherk said. “It just didn’t sit right with me that that is what we’re entertaining our kids with while their loved ones are being detained or deported.”

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(Mara Klecker of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.)