On January 6, 10-year-old Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano and her mother were stopped by federal agents in suburban Minneapolis and later flown about 1,200 miles to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley. Columbia Heights school officials say at least five other students from the district were also sent to Dilley amid an enforcement campaign called Operation Metro Surge. DHS says officers do not target schools and try to keep families together, while school staff describe frantic searches and lasting trauma in the community. Elizabeth and her mother have returned to Minnesota and are appealing a removal order.
She Thought ICE Would Drop Her At School — A 10-Year-Old Was Flown 1,200 Miles To A Texas Detention Center
Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano, right, kisses her mother Rosa in this family photo. Both were taken by federal agents while Elizabeth was on her way to school. - Courtesy Luis Zuna
Before dawn on January 6, 10-year-old Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano and her mother left home in suburban Minneapolis to meet the school bus, as they do every weekday. Instead of a routine drop-off, federal agents surrounded their car and detained Elizabeth and her mother, who were later flown roughly 1,200 miles to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.
What Happened
According to family members and school staff, Elizabeth — who aspires to be a doctor — believed the officers would drop her off at school. Her father, Luis Zuna, says Elizabeth called him from the vehicle and reassured him: "ICE is going to drop me off at school." When the school staff and her father waited for her at the school and no one arrived, frantic calls and searches began. By that afternoon, they learned the mother and daughter had already been transferred to Texas.
Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano told her family she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. - Laura Karsjens
Impact On The School Community
Columbia Heights Public Schools, a small district north of Minneapolis with about 3,400 students and more than half of students speaking Spanish at home, reported that Elizabeth was not the only child affected. District officials said at least five other students from the area were also sent to the Dilley facility over the following weeks, including a 5-year-old who attracted national attention after being detained with his father.
School staff described hours of anguish. Highland Elementary secretary Carolina Gutierrez and social worker Tracy Xiong said employees and parents made desperate calls trying to locate children who never arrived at school. Xiong recalled watching Elizabeth's father sit in his car and cry — an image she said will stay with her.
Immigrants seeking asylum walk at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, in 2019. - Eric Gay/AP/File
Classmates Recognize Children In Detention
In one instance, two brothers who were detained and later released reported seeing a classmate in the Dilley dining hall. District officials said they had not been able to contact that girl's family after January 9; she and other students remained in detention, the district said.
DHS Response And Legal Status
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told reporters that officers do not target children or schools and that when a parent is arrested officers generally ask if the parent wants to be removed with their child or if they can designate a trusted adult to care for the child. DHS said in this case officers allowed the mother to make calls to place the child with a trusted adult; when she was unable to find someone, officers kept the family together.
Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano has been a beloved student at Highland Elementary School since kindergarten, a school secretary and family friend said. - Laura Karsjens
"ICE does NOT target children or schools. That is not how it works," DHS said in a statement. "ICE keeps families together."
The family sought asylum after leaving a rural region of Ecuador; the father described violence and discrimination that prompted their migration. Their attorney said the family complied with hearings after applying for asylum in 2020. A judge later issued a removal order in September, and the family is appealing that decision, the attorney said.
Aftermath And Community Response
After weeks in detention, Elizabeth and her mother returned to Minnesota. School officials and the family's supporters continue to press for clarity about what led to their transfer and for protections that keep children in school rather than detention. A GoFundMe page was created to help the family with expenses during the legal process.
Rosa Caisaguano Cajilema and her husband Luis Zuna fled Ecuador with their daughter to seek asylum in the US. - Courtesy Luis Zuna
School staff and community leaders have called for changes to enforcement practices that they say have caused fear among immigrant families. "Children belong in schools, not in detention," Xiong said. "No child should ever disappear on her way to school."
Reporting Credits: This version consolidates statements from family members, school officials and DHS, and is based on reporting that included contributions from multiple journalists.
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