Elizabeth Shockman

public radio and journalism as a whole is a hard field to be in rn but public radio newsrooms across the country have been sending lunch to my colleagues and i on a weekly basis (at least!!!) over the last month and i find that so heartening

Two Minnesota boys from Liam Ramos’ school released from ICE custody The siblings from Liam Ramos’ Columbia Heights elementary school were detained last week and returned to Minnesota Wednesday. District officials, though, warn they’ve lost contact with other students ...

Here's the full story: www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

“There are other students with whom we have lost contact who might also be in a detention facility,” Columbia Heights district officials said today.

‘ICE conveyor belt’ illegally detaining, moving Minnesota children to Texas faster than courts can respond ICE is pulling Minnesota immigrant families with legal status out of their driveways, homes and school commutes and sending them to Texas within hours — in at least two cases against a judge’s order. ...

Columbia Heights has now connected the located child and her family with legal counsel. But TX lawyers told MPR they have spoken to MN families at Dilley who were not provided required legal counsel before being shipped out of state. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

The two children who returned to MN today say they saw one of their Valley View schoolmates at a detention center in TX. This is a child whose family was last in contact with the school on January 9. No one has known where they were until now.

‘I don’t have words’: 2 more kids from Liam Conejo Ramos’ Columbia Heights school taken into ICE custody The children were taken into ICE custody after their mother was detained at a court appointment. School leaders say the mother asked them to bring the kids to the detention center because there were n...

These 2 kids detained last week were brought back to MN today. But school officials say many others from the Columbia Heights district are missing. They're not sure if they're in ICE detention or have moved away with their families. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

‘I don’t have words’: 2 more kids from Liam Conejo Ramos’ Columbia Heights school taken into ICE custody The children were taken into ICE custody after their mother was detained at a court appointment. School leaders say the mother asked them to bring the kids to the detention center because there were n...

Two children from Liam Ramos' school who were detained by ICE have been released and are back in MN with their mother. Their Columbia Heights principal, who had to deliver the kids to Whipple last week (as described below), picked them up from the airport. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

US Justice Department removes lawyer who told judge in immigration case 'this job sucks' The U.S. Justice Department has removed a government lawyer from an assignment in Minnesota after she told a federal judge "this job sucks" and immigration authorities had failed to comply with court ...

Government removes “this job sucks" lawyer. Via Reuters

I think one thing people outside Minnesota don't understand is that after Good and Pretti were killed by feds while observing, the most normal people you could imagine have made peace with the fact that they could be next, and they are still out there because they say it's the right thing to do.

Asylum-seekers at the Center for Victims of Torture say ICE reminds them of what they escaped The torture rehabilitation clinic has pivoted to helping people process trauma from Operation Metro Surge.

Staff at the Center for Victims of Torture said that some conditions their clients face in the United States would qualify them for their services had they happened overseas. That includes clients who were recently detained by federal agents.

Pursued by federal agents, suburban ICE observers remain resolved After a frightening pursuit by federal agents, suburban ICE observers say fear hasn’t stopped them from protecting their communities.

“If I am killed doing this, throw my body at the White House, martyr the shit out of me & raise hell. Do not be sad. Do not think I would do anything differently. I would do it over & over again — this is too important to sit down & shut up and not do anything.” www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

The Real Story Behind the Midnight Immigration Raid on a Chicago Apartment Building The Trump administration has claimed the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had taken over the building. But new documents make no mention of the gang and reveal federal agents had information about “ille...

"The Trump administration has claimed the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had taken over the building. But new documents make no mention of the gang and reveal federal agents had information about “illegal aliens unlawfully occupying apartments." propublica.org/article/chic...

Pursued by federal agents, suburban ICE observers remain resolved After a frightening pursuit by federal agents, suburban ICE observers say fear hasn’t stopped them from protecting their communities.

Most of the footage you see from ICE observers in Minnesota comes from the core cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. I talked to observers in the northern suburbs, who say they're taking on the same mission in very different conditions. (1)
share.google/ei9giIFLsuEJ...

Minnesota’s Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz ruled, almost immediately, that ICE could not move the two men out of Minnesota. He gave the federal government until Friday to provide an explanation for their actions.

I just got off the phone with Elizabeth's dad...she and her mom were freed tonight! Updated story: sahanjournal.com/education/co...

Polls Show Strong G.O.P. Support for Trump on Immigration A small, but growing, share of Republicans say that enforcement has gone too far, after the killing of two Minneapolis protesters.

A vast majority of Republicans still support President Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, which led to the killing of two protesters in Minneapolis last month, new polls show. But a small, and growing, share of Republicans now say that enforcement has gone too far, the polls reveal.

ICE attorney to judge: ‘This job sucks’ A federal judge admonished DHS for repeatedly defying court orders to release detainees, as government lawyers described widespread noncompliance during Minnesota’s immigration crackdown.

A federal judge and two government lawyers expressed exasperation Tuesday with the Department of Homeland Security’s repeated failure to comply with court orders to release people whom federal agents arrested during the Trump Administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown.

Judge Jerry Blackwell was one of the Derek Chauvin prosecutors. @mprnews.org reporter Riham Feshir wrote a terrific profile of him in 2021.
www.mprnews.org/story/2021/0...

Update: @eshockmanwrites.bsky.social reports that Elizabeth and her mom were released from ICE detention this evening.
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

Columbia Heights girl, 11, remains in ICE detention in Texas during measles outbreak Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano was detained nearly a month ago with her mother on their way to school in Columbia Heights, the same district as 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos. A measles outbreak at the deten...

An 11-year-old girl from Columbia Heights remains in ICE detention at the Dilley, Texas facility — where measles cases have been reported — sparking concern among family, community members and advocates.

Columbia Heights girl, 11, remains in ICE detention in Texas during measles outbreak Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano was detained nearly a month ago with her mother on their way to school in Columbia Heights, the same district as 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos. A measles outbreak at the deten...

“They were just living their life going through the process as it was intended to be gone through,” www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

Children’s Minnesota to pause some pediatric gender health services Gender-affirming care for transgender youth remains legal in Minnesota, but the hospital says it will pause prescribing puberty-suppressing medications and pubertal hormones to patients under the age ...

If federal actions targeting pediatric health systems providing this type of care remain unchanged, come Feb. 27, Children's Minnesota will temporarily pause treatment like prescribing puberty blockers and hormones to patients under 18.

Mike Lindell's campaign for governor is buying boatloads of Mike Lindell autobiographies • Minnesota Reformer Mike Lindell’s memoir, “What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO,” has enjoyed a new surge of sales since he announced a run for governor late last year. Who’s buying the book, which details his ad...

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell spent more than half the money he raised in his campaign for Minnesota governor last year buying copies of his autobiography.

Nearly 30,000 Minnesotans trained as constitutional observers The Immigrant Defense Network works with more than 100 organizations to help train constitutional observers. At the end of November, there were 2,500 trained observers. That number has soared as more ...

A manager for the Immigrant Defense Network told MPR News that back in November, 2,500 people were trained as constitutional observers. Now, the total is nearly 30,000 trained observers in 77 of Minnesota's 87 counties.

Some local activists cautioned against overinterpreting Wambsganss’ loss as a national political signal, arguing instead that it reflected distinctly local fallout from her role in contentious school board fights that reshaped public education politics in North Texas. In 2020, Wambsganss co-founded Southlake Families PAC to back school board candidates who pledged to root out critical race theory, which centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions, and what they described as “woke” diversity initiatives in local schools. She later expanded that work as director of Patriot Mobile Action, the political arm of a right-wing Christian cellphone company, which poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into school board races across the region, helping elect slates of anti-DEI Republicans. Wambsganss’ campaign to put “God back in schools” helped elevate her to national prominence, with frequent appearances on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast and other conservative media. But in more recent elections, opponents say, the policies she championed — including aggressive curriculum battles, book bans and public funding for private Christian schools — triggered resistance not just from Democrats, but also from independent and Republican parents who said the fights sowed division and instability in high-achieving suburban school systems. Laney Hawes, a parent of four in one of those districts and a co-founder of the Texas Freedom to Read Project, said many in Tarrant County had come to see Wambsganss as “the villain of public education.” While Hawes said she was energized by the outcome, she warned that the result was being read too broadly outside the region. “This win was about parents’ coming together from every notch on the political spectrum and trying to protect our children and our community,” Hawes said. “Even Republicans and moderates were pissed off at her.”

Some important context for anyone writing about that Texas special election shocker

Columbia Heights schools closed Monday due to ‘credible threat’ The Columbia Heights school district canceled classes Monday after what school officials are calling a “credible threat.” The district didn’t release further details about the nature of the threat. It...

The Columbia Heights school district canceled classes Monday after what school officials are calling a “credible threat.” The district didn’t release further details about the nature of the threat. It said the move to cancel classes was out of an abundance of caution.

Tired of living in fear, this family decided to deport themselves An immigrant family from Ecuador said they felt like prisoners in their Minneapolis home.

“We didn’t come here with bad intentions,” Segundo said. “We came here to work. Now we are afraid to stay. We’re afraid to go outside.” www.startribune.com/tired-of-liv...

Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...

1/ BREAKING: Government documents reviewed by ProPublica identify Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa, 43, and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez, 35, as the two who fired their weapons during the deadly encounter with Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

How Trump Appears in the Epstein Files The New York Times found more than 5,300 files with references to Mr. Trump and related terms. They include salacious and unverified claims, as well as documents that had already been made public.

President Trump is mentioned in the latest batch of released files on Jeffrey Epstein thousands of times, The New York Times found. The mentions include unverified claims, as well as documents that had already been made public. Here is what our review of the files has found so far.

...including our other four students who are being held at the Dilley facility in Texas. We want all children to be released from detention centers and hope for the reunification of families who have been unjustly separated."