Leaders of several Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will share how more than two months of increased federal immigration enforcement impacted their operations.
The 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. breakfast and presentation on April 11 — titled Walking Alongside Our Schools: Students, Families, and Solidarity in Times of Uncertainty — will be held in the atrium at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis.
It is sponsored by the Catholic Coalition for Human Dignity and Solidarity, which includes the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Catholic Charities Twin Cities, the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota (CCF), Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Catherine University, the University of St. Thomas and St. Mary’s University.
“In this moment, Catholic school communities are carrying a particular burden, as educators and leaders accompany families through real strain shaped by wider inequities,” Meg Payne Nelson, CCF’s vice president of impact and a member of the coalition’s working group, shared via email.
“By creating space for their stories, the coalition is doing what it was formed to do — convening the community, deepening understanding, and inviting others into solidarity,” Nelson said. “Grounded in prayer and reflection, this gathering offers a way for people not just to learn, but to recognize their place in a shared response rooted in human dignity.”
On Dec. 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began what became an effort to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants with as many as 3,000 federal agents in Minnesota. U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan announced Feb. 12 a drawdown of what DHS called “Operation Metro Surge” and described as its largest immigration enforcement ever.
Presenters at the coalition’s event will include Jesuit Father Thomas Bambrick, director of Jesuit mission and identity at Cristo Rey High School in Minneapolis, and the school’s principal, Zindy Mooney. They will be joined Patty Stromen, president of Ascension Catholic Academy, and Peyton Schick, program manager at Minnesota City Connects, which connects families with services and provides other support in several Catholic schools of the archdiocese.
The coalition, which recently changed its name from the original Catholic Racial Justice Coalition, is encouraging people to help Catholic schools and parishes by donating to a Minnesota Catholic Relief Fund set up through CCF at ccf-mn.org/relief. People can register to attend the public forum at ccf-mn.org/cchds/registration.
