Bulwark Takes – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Minnesota Superintendent Fires Back at JD Vance Over Child Detentions
Host(s): The Bulwark Team (Sam Stein, others)
Guest: Zena Stenvik, Superintendent of Columbia Heights Public School District
Date: February 22, 2026

Overview

This sobering yet hopeful episode of Bulwark Takes features a powerful, in-depth conversation with Zena Stenvik, superintendent of the Columbia Heights Public School District in Minneapolis, which has become an epicenter of trauma amid aggressive ICE activity under the Trump administration. The discussion explores how the district and its community are rallying to support immigrant families and children affected by ICE detentions, including the now famous case of five-year-old Liam Ramos. With both candor and resilience, Stenvik narrates heartbreaking events and community-driven resistance, and responds forcefully to public defenses of the detentions, most notably from Vice President J.D. Vance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Community Under Siege

• Unexpected New Reality: After Trump’s 2024 election, apprehension grew rapidly as federal policy changes targeted sanctuary protections. The school swiftly began “Know Your Rights” presentations and even prepared legal documents to delegate parental authority in anticipation of possible child separations.

  • Quote:

    "It's not something that we've ever been, you know, trained to do. We are dedicated our whole lives to the well being and caring for children."
    — Zena Stenvik [06:52]

• Trauma and Unimaginable Events: Staff couldn’t fathom the scale or reality of what would happen, including ICE raids on school grounds and staff being doxxed and directly confronted by agents.

  • Quote:

    "What has happened to us is so unbelievable that no, I mean we could have never fathomed what has happened."
    — Zena Stenvik [08:41]

2. The Day-to-Day Reality of ICE Presence

• First Major Incident: The first childhood detention shocked the community; armed, masked ICE agents apprehended children, even driving them away as family and school officials pleaded to care for them instead.

  • Memorable Story:

    "Three 17-year-old boys were driving to school... stopped and surrounded by masked, armed, unidentified [agents]... They took one of the boys and detained him. And the other one, they said, 'I guess it's your lucky day.' So I'm thinking, you're instilling survivor's guilt."
    — Zena Stenvik [11:49–12:45]

• Liam Ramos’s Detention: The five-year-old’s removal by ICE agents marked a devastating low point, prompting Stenvik and the school board to go public for the first time. The district’s response included late-night welfare checks, community mobilization, and deep personal support for affected families.

  • Quote:

    "I would be calling homes in the evening, like looking for a four year old child that potentially ... is this four year old child with you or did they get left behind alone in the home? Because we'll come get them."
    — Zena Stenvik [16:55]

3. The Ripple Effects on Students and Learning

• Psychological Toll: Fear permeates all students, not just those from immigrant families. Children routinely ask if their parents will be home after school, and basic safety feels upended.

  • Quote:

    "I've had children say to me, 'Am I going to get taken? Will my parents be home when I get home from school today?' Just the fear is pervasive."
    — Zena Stenvik [17:42]

• Shift to Remote Learning: Hundreds of students now learn remotely out of fear, further worsening educational disparities that became all too familiar during COVID.

  • Quote:

    "We have 800 [students] online."
    — Zena Stenvik [19:20]

4. Community Response and Mutual Aid

• Grassroots Organization: Clergy, volunteer teachers, city council, and everyday neighbors organize church trainings, patrol streets, and walk children home. “Minnesota Nice Watch” volunteers, school vans, and intense coordination are now normal.

  • Quote:

    "We have people posted like three blocks up because that's where they [ICE agents] are."
    — Zena Stenvik [20:15]

• Emotional Resilience: Amid fear, resilience blooms—origami bunny installations in honor of Liam, volunteers covering grocery stores for hours, and the refusal to accept this as the new normal.

  • Quote:

    "We can never normalize this behavior... As good as we've gotten at it, it's systematized, unfortunately, it cannot be normalized. This can never be normal."
    — Zena Stenvik [21:34, 21:59]

5. Direct Rebuke of J.D. Vance & Detention Rhetoric

• Responding to Deflection: When read Vice President J.D. Vance's justification for detaining Liam Ramos, Stenvik delivers a searing rebuttal, emphasizing the non-criminal status of the families ICE targeted.
  • Quote:

    "First of all, you know, I don't think anyone is opposed to apprehending violent criminals... Liam himself, Liam's father, Liam's mother, and all of the cases that I've worked on, they have no criminal record... They are here by legal means."
    — Zena Stenvik [22:57–24:21]

6. Lessons for the Future

• Civics and Moral Action: Stenvik calls for curricular honesty—teaching students “the actual truth, not the whitewashed truth”—and urges everyone to remain engaged: go to meetings, know your neighbors, use platforms to do good.

  • Quote:

    "We're going to teach the children the actual truth, not the whitewashed truth... Know your neighbor, go to a city council meeting, come to a school board meeting, speak up. And you know, if you're given a platform like I've been given, if you use it for good."
    — Zena Stenvik [25:44–27:22]

• Hope and Unity: Through the hardship, the district has seen proof that “there’s strength in diversity” and resilience in community.

  • Quote:

    "In times of crisis, Minneapolis and Minnesota has really like turned out and shown up for one another in community. We love our immigrant communities. They bring, there's strength and diversity. Right?"
    — Zena Stenvik [27:22]

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• (04:16) Origami bunnies for solidarity:

  "They’re calling it a Safe Passage Home ... they’re making origami bunnies, and they're doing an art installation at our high school. They've made hundreds and hundreds of bunnies, so I made you a bunny."
  — Zena Stenvik

• (10:52) Doxxing incident:

  "They took her photo of her license plate and they walked up to her car and they said her full name. Hello, Mary Rose Granlund, who lives at blah blah blah blah blah."
  — Zena Stenvik

• (21:34) Unacceptable normalization:

  "We can never normalize this behavior."
  — Zena Stenvik

• (22:31) Audience interaction regarding J.D. Vance:

  "You know, you're in Minneapolis, right?"
  — Zena Stenvik

• (24:21) History and legal status:

  "Again, thick immigration paperwork. I've seen it with my own eyes. So they are here by legal means."
  — Zena Stenvik

Important Timestamps

• 03:17 – Introduction; context for the interview with Zena Stenvik.
• 04:16 – Description of community art project (origami bunnies) in response to detentions.
• 06:42 – Reaction to Trump’s election and early measures to cope.
• 10:52 – Account of first doxxing incident targeting school board chair.
• 11:12–12:45 – Story of the ICE detention of students, including Liam Ramos.
• 17:42 – Discussion of psychological impact on all students.
• 19:20 – Explosion of remote learning as a coping response.
• 20:15 – Details on community organizing and protection systems.
• 21:34 – Statement on normalization of traumatic events.
• 22:57 – Stenvik answers J.D. Vance’s defense of child detentions.
• 25:44–27:22 – Lessons for children and the community’s response.

Tone & Atmosphere

• Sober, Resilient, and Candid: The episode does not shy away from the emotional toll and institutional trauma, but is equally clear-eyed about collective action, moral clarity, and the need for honest storytelling.
• Community-focused and Hopeful: While depicting hardship, Stenvik’s words stress community solidarity, mutual aid, and the importance of witnessing and truth-telling for future generations.

Final Takeaway

This episode is a striking portrait of a district’s struggle and defiance under federal policy, offering both a warning against the normalization of traumatic government action and a model for what “showing up” in community really looks like in America’s urgent moments.