January 29, 2026

Dear Community,

The University of St. Thomas School of Law is inspired by justice, guided by faith, grounded in reason, committed to excellence, and devoted to advancing the common good. As faculty members of the School of Law, we write in our individual capacities to express our deep concern for our community and our country in light of the actions of some agents of DHS, ICE, and the Border Patrol that reflect a disregard for human dignity and the common good and a disregard for the Constitution and the Rule of Law.

As members of a Catholic university we are guided by our obligation to recognize in all the human dignity with which they are endowed as people made in the image of God.  We are guided by Catholic Social Teaching which challenges us to live our lives in support of the common good in solidarity with our brothers and sisters and with a preferential option for the poor and marginalized.

Over the past two months, our streets have been flooded with federal agents wearing masks, holding machine guns, boxing in U.S. citizens while waving guns in their faces, demanding people to show proof of citizenship. Many of these people are people of color who are U.S. citizens but have been stopped based on the color of their skin. Additionally, people in our community shelter in their houses for fear of unlawful detainment. People are being detained without constitutionally required judicial warrants. Some members of our community, including some of our own students and faculty, travel to work or school each day in terror, many of whom now feel the need to carry their passports for fear of being stopped unlawfully and detained. Most importantly, we have suffered the profoundly unnecessary loss of life—Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

As law professors seeking to educate succeeding generations of law students to fulfill their responsibilities as lawyers with an understanding of their special responsibility to support the rule of law, we are deeply disturbed and heartbroken at the violations of the Constitution and the rule of law by some agents of DHS, ICE, and the Border Patrol.  Two of the foundational principles that undergird the rule of law include equality under the law and due process. Equality demands that everyone is equal under the law and that no one, including the government, is above the law.  Due Process requires that people receive robust legal processes before their rights are impaired by the government.

We applaud leaders in our community who continue to stand for justice and the rule of law. The Honorable Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz of the federal district court in Minnesota, who is also one of the founders of the University of St. Thomas School of Law, called out ICE’s brazen disregard for the law as the judiciary attempts to ensure accountability for unlawful actions by ICE here in the Twin Cities. In a recent order, Chief Judge Schiltz stated, “ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”

The School of Law’s mission calls us to search for truth.  We call for a vigorous effort to find the truth and to hold accountable those who have committed crimes.

With heartful respect,

Brenda Arndt

Tom Berg

Jennifer Cornell

David Grenardo

Daniel Griffith

Neil Hamilton

Julie Jonas

Robert Kahn

Sarita Matheson

Dennis Monroe

Rachel Moran

Jerry Organ

Julie Oseid

Michael Paulsen

Charles Reid

Michael Robak

Hank Shea

Gregory Sisk

Susan Stabile

Carl Warren

Virgil Wiebe

Professor Elizabeth Schiltz, as the spouse of a federal judge, is unable to join public statements about matters that might come before the federal courts.