A Minneapolis school board director who has said she does not believe in borders or countries — and has called the Trump administration “white supremacist” while saying white neighborhoods make her uncomfortable — reportedly wrote on social media that she and her family are “at risk of being deported.”
In 2020, Adriana Cerrillo was elected as the “first Mexican immigrant to serve as director on the Board of Education,” representing District 4. She was re-elected in 2024.
According to the Minnesota School Boards Association, “To qualify for election to your local school board you must be an eligible voter,” meaning a legal, registered voter under state law.
The Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office further clarifies that “only citizens of the United States are eligible to vote in elections in Minnesota.”
In an article for the Minneapolis Interview Project, Cerrillo wrote that she was born and raised in Mexico and crossed the border into Texas with her mother when she was 15.
“How did I become a troublemaker?” she wrote. “I think it comes from being an undocumented student in Texas in the 1980s.”
Cerrillo also wrote about later becoming a mother, referring to herself as “a single undocumented mother.”
“I don’t believe in borders, I don’t believe in countries, I don’t believe in flags that separate us as humans,” she said in the article.
A 2020 Sahan Journal article said Cerrillo had to “navigate the experience of being an undocumented high school student” and that “several of her family members have ‘self-deported.'”
In a Facebook post last year, Cerrillo described herself as “previously undocumented and once deported.”
Alpha News seeks clarification
Alpha News reached out to Cerrillo by email and phone for clarification on her current immigration status and, if she is eligible to serve under state guidelines that require citizenship, to ask why she allegedly stated that she is at risk of being deported.
Alpha News did not receive a response.
Alpha News also contacted Minneapolis Public Schools regarding Cerrillo’s eligibility to serve as a board member. A district spokesperson responded:
“Minneapolis Public Schools contracts with the City of Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services Office to administer school board elections, including candidate filings.”
Alpha News also reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding Cerrillo. An agency spokesperson issued a vague response, saying, “There is no reason for ICE to investigate her.”
National spotlight
Cerrillo recently drew attention from the social media account Libs of TikTok, which posted about her comments and tagged the Department of Homeland Security and ICE Director Tom Homan in an X post.
Meet Adrianna Cerrillo, school board member at @MPS_News.
She allegedly posted this saying she’s at risk of being deported. She was born in Mexico and doesn’t believe in borders or countries.
.@ICEgov should immediately investigate her immigration status and DEPORT if she’s… pic.twitter.com/HsCiOyMFTF
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 28, 2025
Cerrillo: Trump a ‘white supremacist’ administration
Alpha News reported earlier this year that Cerrillo posted a profanity-laced rant against President Donald Trump and his efforts to deport illegal immigrants, shortly after the Minneapolis School Board voted to reaffirm a 2016 resolution pledging not to collect or share information about the immigration status of students or their families with ICE.
“We must stay united against the White Supremacist new administration,” Cerrillo said in a Facebook post obtained by Alpha News and later posted to X.
Meanwhile… in Minneapolis….
Submitted: Parents raise concerns after this profanity-laced post this week from Minneapolis School Board Director Adriana Cerrillo 👇 pic.twitter.com/9ts4vJVWy0
— Liz Collin (@lizcollin) January 22, 2025
Cerrillo not ‘comfortable’ in white neighborhoods
Cerrillo, who has said she received a “much better” education in Mexico than in the United States, described in the Minneapolis Interview Project what it was like when she first moved to Minneapolis in 2013.
“I walked all the time,” she wrote. “I noticed there was a Black side and a White side of the street. I walked with my brothers and sisters on the Black side. I am not comfortable in neighborhoods that are predominantly White.”
She also wrote about becoming involved in “police accountability” after hearing stories about “a racist cop who targeted Brown people.”
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
