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ICE raids at schools: Federal judge gives green light

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ICE raids at schools: Federal judge gives green light

A federal judge has ruled against the Denver public schools system’s attempts to block immigration officials from carrying out raids on school grounds, marking a win for the Trump administration as it looks to ramp up its deportation efforts. 

U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico said Denver Public Schools failed to prove that a recent drop in student attendance at schools was due to the Trump administration reversing a 2021 Biden-era policy of protecting schools — and other sensitive areas like churches — from ICE raids. There are currently more than 1.4 million individuals on ICE’s final order of removal docket.

Denver Public Schools filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for reversing the policy, claiming the district was “hindered in fulfilling its mission” to students who didn’t turn up to school for fear of immigration enforcement.  

Denver Public Schools had sought a preliminary injunction barring the federal government from making arrests at sensitive locations, which was denied. Domenico also denied a request that he grant a nationwide preliminary injunction forcing immigration officials to revert to the 2021 guidance.

A federal judge has ruled against the Denver public schools system’s attempts to block immigration officials from carrying out raids on school grounds, marking a win for the Trump administration as it looks to ramp up its deportation efforts.  (AP)

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COLORADO SCHOOL DISTRICT FIRST IN COUNTRY TO SUE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER FEARS OF ICE RAIDS ON CAMPUSES

Besides a drop in attendance, Denver Public Schools said it had to divert resources to respond to fear among students and families over the lifting of longtime rules.

The school system also argued that rescinding the policy had caused schools to devote time and resources to teaching students and staff how to remain safe from immigration enforcement. Denver Public Schools has trained staff on how to handle ICE officers if they show up at school, telling them to deny agents entry if they don’t have a warrant signed by a judge. 

Domenico, a Trump appointee and Colorado’s former solicitor general, said that it wasn’t clear how much of the fear surrounding possible enforcement actions in schools was really due to the new rules as opposed to broader concerns of increased immigration actions.

He also pointed out that Denver Public Schools had not yet experienced any raids and noted that the head of ICE also issued a directive to its officers that immigration arrests at sensitive places still had to be approved by supervisors.

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The fear over the new rules, as well as the belief that the old rules provided protection to schools, both seem to be “overstated,” Domenico said.

It wasn’t clear how much of the fear surrounding possible enforcement actions in schools was really due to the new rules as opposed to broader concerns of increased immigration actions, he said.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, second from left, during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing titled “A Hearing with Sanctuary City Mayors” in Washington, D.C., on March 5, 2025.  (Anadolu via Getty Images)

Denver Public Schools issued a statement expressing disappointment with the ruling, while asserting that its lawsuit was successful in making public details of the Trump administration rules.

The lawsuit was brought by the school district, not the city of Denver, which is a sanctuary city. The lawsuit stated that there were more than 90,000 students in the Denver Public Schools system during the 2023-2024 school year, and approximately 4,000 were immigrants.

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COLORADO COUNCILWOMAN ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO ‘REPORT’ ICE ACTIVITY TO HELP ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AVOID CAPTURE

The ruling came just days after Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and the Democratic leaders of other cities were grilled by Republican members of Congress about their so-called sanctuary city policies that they see as undermining Trump’s immigration and mass deportation efforts, as well as making such cities more dangerous. 

Since Jan. 20, ICE has arrested and deported thousands of people in the U.S. illegally – most of them being criminals with convictions in the U.S. or their home countries. 

Denver has seen a massive population jump in recent years as the city predicts nearly 43,000 people have arrived in the area from the southern border, the lawsuit said. 

The ruling also comes as the Trump administration has restarted the detention of illegal alien families that have deportation orders. 

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A migrant lies on the sleeping pad at a makeshift shelter in Denver, Colorado, on Jan. 13, 2023. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Parents are now being detained, including with their children, at two ICE facilities in Texas. These are families who have already had their cases heard and have been ordered removed. 

Fox News is told ICE is now actively going into the interior of the U.S. and arresting migrant families that crossed the border illegally in years prior and have been ordered deported from the U.S. by a Justice Department immigration judge. This is known as a final order of removal, of which there are currently more than 1.4 million individuals on ICE’s docket.

Border Patrol data shows more than 2 million migrant family units were apprehended while crossing the southern border illegally during the Biden administration. 

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Fox News’ Bille Melugin and Elizabeth Pritchett as well as The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Montana

Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition

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Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition


GREAT FALLS — For Staff Sgt. Brianna St. Lawrence-Brody, service does not only happen in uniform.

Outside the gates of the base, she works at Benefis as a nurse, Great Falls Public Schools as a school nurse, and comes home as a wife and mom of four. For the Montana Air National Guard, she serves as a command post controller with the 120th Airlift Wing in Great Falls.

(WATCH: Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition)

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Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition

This year, St. Lawrence-Brody was named the U.S. Air National Guard’s Outstanding Airman of the Year in the Non-Commissioned Officer category.

She said the recognition came as a surprise, especially because her path into the Guard started later than others.

“I joined very late in life,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “I joined the Guard right before I turned 40. So for me, every opportunity that’s presented, I want to take the bull by the horns and just run with it and do the best of my ability.”

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, she joined the Guard after finishing nursing school. She said she went straight from nursing school into helping open a COVID unit, while also working at Benefis.

She said that experience was the start of one journey, but not the whole of what she wanted to accomplish.

St. Lawrence-Brody joined the Guard for the opportunities, the challenge and to help build a future for her four children.

“It’s a little bit of a competition for myself,” she said. “Like, if I can do it, why not try my best to achieve it?”

120th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

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As a command post controller, she assists in helping move information during emergencies and major events.

“Outside, obviously, I’m a nurse. Inside the Guard, I have nothing to do with the medical field, which is kind of amazing,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “It keeps me on my toes.”

She explained balancing the Guard, two civilian jobs and four children takes support from her family, her employers and her unit. She said Benefis and GFPS have been supportive of her military service.

Her nomination included her deployment experience, training work overseas and involvement across the wing. St. Lawrence-Brody said she deployed to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where she worked with an operations center supporting entities connected to Africa.

But, she says this recognition is not the finish line.

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“This award, it’s not necessarily a landing pad for me,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “I want to use it as a springboard.”

brianna award duality.jpg

120th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

St. Lawrence-Brody hopes her story encourages others to keep taking on new opportunities, even when they feel uncertain.

“Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and be okay with doing things afraid,” she said. “I think when you get to be okay with doing things afraid, that’s where you’re going to find the growth.”

She has already won at the Air National Guard level, but she recently traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of the broader Air Force Outstanding Airman of the Year process, which includes nominees from the Guard, Reserve and major commands across the Air Force.

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Nevada

Officials elevate response efforts to combat eastern Nevada wildfires

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Officials elevate response efforts to combat eastern Nevada wildfires












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Officials elevate response efforts to combat eastern Nevada wildfires | Local Nevada | Local























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