{"id":10223,"date":"2026-05-28T18:02:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T18:02:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10223"},"modified":"2026-05-28T18:02:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T18:02:51","slug":"the-minneapolis-immigration-crackdown-ended-months-ago-for-these-little-kids-trauma-remains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10223","title":{"rendered":"The Minneapolis immigration crackdown ended months ago. For these little kids, trauma remains"},"content":{"rendered":"

By MORIAH BALINGIT of The Associated Press and ANDY STEINER of MinnPost<\/strong><\/p>\n

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) \u2014 The little girl approached the therapy dog outside the school library, reaching out to touch her fluffy blond coat. Social worker Nicole Herje leaned in.<\/p>

Read more Exclusive: Inside an African hotel where asylum seekers deported by the US are imprisoned<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHow does it feel when you pet Sage?\u201d Herje said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like it,\u201d the girl said. \u201cIn Ecuador, I had a dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few months earlier, this girl and many of her classmates at Valley View Elementary were staying off the streets to avoid the immigration officers flooding their suburban Minneapolis community. Attendance plummeted as families kept their kids from school during the Trump administration\u2019s enforcement surge.<\/p>\n

Sage the goldendoodle is not just a cute diversion. She\u2019s part of a broader strategy to address the psychological wounds of children who witnessed arrests, lost relatives to deportation or endured anxious weeks indoors. At least four students at the school were themselves detained, sent hundreds of miles away to a Texas family detention center.<\/p>\n

Immigration officers made more than 4,000 arrests and shot multiple people, two fatally, before \u201cOperation Metro Surge\u201d wound down in February, leaving an imprint on the psyches of young children that could haunt them for years, mental health providers say.<\/p>\n

Columbia Heights Public Schools, like many other districts, offered virtual learning for children who remained at home during the crackdown, but online schooling ended after spring break, and with many back in class, the staff has been focused on their recovery.<\/p>

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\u201cWhat we know about trauma is that our bodies hold on to the fear,\u201d Herje said.<\/p>\n