A Minnesota high school principal has warned parents that students could face discipline, including suspension, for comments that praise Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents or reference President Donald Trump’s deportation policies in ways school officials say conflict with the school’s values.
Paul Paetzel, principal of Edina High School, outlined the policy in a letter sent to parents, stating that references to ICE or immigration enforcement that cause fear or humiliation among students would not be tolerated.
Edina High School, located in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina, enrolls more than 2,700 students in grades nine through 12 and is widely regarded as one of the highest-performing public high schools in the country.
In the letter, Paetzel said the school was taking a proactive approach to shaping what he described as its culture and expectations around student behavior and language.
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“I want to speak directly and proactively about the culture we are committed to creating at Edina High School,” Paetzel wrote.
“As we continue to grow as a community, it is essential that we are clear about the expectations we hold for language and behavior that honor the dignity of every student.”
Paetzel specifically addressed references to immigration enforcement, warning that such remarks could violate school policy.
“Making light of immigration threats or referencing ICE in ways that cause fear or humiliation is a serious offense and not representative of our core values,” he wrote.
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“Behavior of this nature fundamentally violates our commitment to providing a safe and equitable learning environment free from harassment.”
He continued by saying that comments viewed as inconsistent with the district’s mission would result in disciplinary action.
“Such language and behaviors directly contradict Edina Public Schools’ vision and mission, and what we expect of our students,” Paetzel wrote.
“If this type of behavior occurs, we will honor the discipline policy and move forward with consequences up to and including suspension.”
Paetzel concluded the letter by stating that school officials believe they have a responsibility to intervene.
“Our responsibility is to protect every student’s right to feel safe, respected, and valued at school,” he wrote.
OMG
.@edinaschools principal promises to SUSPEND students if they talk positively about ICE.Unreal https://t.co/Ko9R2hptzE pic.twitter.com/OxrZPFPXZe— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 14, 2025
The letter has drawn attention as debates over immigration enforcement and deportation policies continue nationally and within Minnesota.
President Trump has made mass deportations and stricter immigration enforcement a central focus of his administration, drawing both support and criticism across the country.
The controversy also comes as Minnesota faces increased scrutiny over immigration-related issues, including investigations into large-scale fraud schemes involving public programs.
Thousands of Somalis, many of whom are reported to be residing in the United States illegally, were recently found to have committed major Social Security fraud in cases tied to state oversight.
The issue has intensified political debate in the state, particularly given Minnesota’s large and concentrated Somali population.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in the most recent election cycle, has defended his administration’s approach to immigration and has rejected criticism tied to fraud investigations.
Walz has argued that blame for systemic problems lies elsewhere and has continued to advocate for welcoming additional immigrants.
“We are going to defend our neighbors,” Walz said at a fundraiser last week.
“Instead of demonizing our Somali community, we’re going to do more to welcome more in.”
BREAKING: Gov. Tim Walz was asked if he thinks Somali leaders need to hold their own accountable.Walz: “A lot of white men should be holding a lot of white men accountable.” pic.twitter.com/lbL9jNpQsB
— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) December 12, 2025
Walz’s remarks and the broader immigration debate have heightened tensions in communities and institutions across the state, including public schools.
Critics argue that disciplinary policies like the one announced at Edina High School risk suppressing political speech and viewpoints that support federal immigration enforcement.
Supporters of the policy say the school is attempting to prevent intimidation or harassment tied to immigration issues.
Edina Public Schools officials have not released additional guidance clarifying how the policy will be enforced or how administrators will distinguish between prohibited conduct and protected speech.
The district has also not specified whether the policy applies to classroom discussions, informal student conversations, or both.
As immigration enforcement remains a defining political issue nationally and in Minnesota, the situation at Edina High School highlights how those debates are increasingly playing out in local schools, raising questions about student expression, discipline, and the role of public education in addressing controversial political topics.
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How can one send one’s child to public schools (ESPECIALLY in a Leftists hellhole like Minnesota) and then act surprised when the principal promises to punish students who do the right thing? If you send you kids to public indoctrination centers…you tacitly approve of this Leftist lunacy.
Another sick Yankee emotes.
A Yankee is someone from the northeast US. That spitzpinkler is from MN.
Everyone North of the Red River is a yankee.
actually a YANKEE was anyone from the US 1950 Cold war
and orgin from Dutch in New York
Full on communist indoctrination of the young.
I would sit my kid down and have a talk about the schools policy.
Son/Daughter, get ready to pick your college.
Or Trade School. Might be safer!
WHERE’S MY LAWYER??? SURE SOUNDS LIKE A LAWSUIT COMING TO ME.
What can you expect from a state whose leader thinks boys need tampons.
Every student is supposed to feel valued and safe as long as they don’t say anything good about ICE. Those who do can go to hell after being punished by their betters. Got it!
The headline is right on. This is what leaders in the book “1984” did. Is this not a “free speech” issue? How can a school (any school) get by with this? Lawsuits for sure.
How many fingers is Jazz Hands Walz holding up, Winston?
So much for the 1st Amendment. Seig Heil, Paetzel! You may join your comrades in the commie states where anti-Constitution thoughts flourish.
Don’t come here where we believe in the freedoms found it that very Constitution.
Most would refrain from joking about illegals getting a boot in the *** anyway, because they know dang well that third worlders are much more willing to engage in violence.
So if a student talks BS about ICE, that’s ok, but not the other way around? More violence might be what’s next if Edina feels this way about illegals. Why should MN taxpayers have to keep supporting these people who bring nothing to our State, but fear and violence?
It’s Minnesota, what else can be expected with that feckless, spastic, jumping, arm waving clown Stolen Valor Tampon Tim in charge?
“Governor Tim Walz, who served as a member of the Minnesota Army National Guard, learned that his unit would likely be deployed to Iraq in 2004. AT THE TIME, Walz was a member of the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery, and the deployment was part of the broader mobilization of National Guard units during the Iraq War.” Then the coward decided to retire, too scared to go to Iraq with his unit.
Walz has not corrected others when they have referred to him as an “Afghanistan veteran,” a term that may more directly imply being stationed there. For example, on a television program in 2016, the host characterized Mr. Walz as a veteran who had served in “Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan,” to which Mr. Walz nodded. Walz did not correct the record, just let the host believe he served in Afghanistan which he did not. Stolen Valor.
“Walz joined the National Guard at age 17 and served 24 years, first in Nebraska then Minnesota. During that time he got called up to national disasters and a deployment to the Arctic Circle in Norway. He completed his 20 years required for retirement in 2001, but then reenlisted after the attacks on Sept. 11. His only wartime deployment was to Italy in 2003, backfilling troops that were deploying to Afghanistan.” Buffoon liar never carried any weapon in war. Stolen Valor, and insult to every veteran who did. P.S. He also lied about his retirement rank. ““Tim Walz claimed to be a command sergeant major, even had it printed on his challenge coins, and he knew he never achieved that rank.”
“We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at,” Walz said. The slimy lying basturd never carried any weapons in war. Stolen Valor a disgrace to every veteran.
Liz Collin reports that National Guard members who served with Tim Walz have come forward, claiming he passed classified military intelligence to the Chinese government. Not long after, China began producing military tanks nearly identical to U.S. designs.
leftards imbeciles are some sick puppy in minisoder!!!!!!!
With the Somalians you might want to add ‘inbred’ to the list.
Most of Minnesota is actually very conservative right! Only the Twin Cities metro area is a absolute Hell Hole! Which I won’t go to if my life depended on it!! There Has not been a Fair and un-corrupted election in many many years! The democrap party will tell you elections are safe fair and honest here But like the Great Rush used to say what ever the demonrat party is telling you can expect the exact opposite. Their motto: It don’t matter who the people vote for it only matters WHO counts the votes.
Taxpayers will be on the hook for a lawsuit but they dont care the school board or principal dont have to pay it
I expect this from the marxist left. But what I don’t expect is for the Trump administration to tolerate this. Where is the Dept of Education? The feds need to swoop in and take over the school. The local school board needs to be litigated against in federal courts for violating the civil rights of the students.
GOP, are you going to act or do we need a new party to vote for?
Suppress them now. They’ll be lined up at the ICE recruiting office the day after graduation.
The first student who is suspended for this policy should sue and will win. Supreme Court precedent on student speech has been very clear since Tinker v. Des Moines in 1968. Students do not give up their first amendment rights ‘at the schoolhouse door’ and this is clearly protected political speech.
Paul Pretzel needs baseball bat therapy.
your infringing on their rights of FREE SPEECH,
and if I was the students, Christmas and new year vacation coming so all the students should talk about ICE and trump in a positive way and all STUDENTS get suspended for some of the winter months, it gets COLD