Twin Cities immigrant rights activists want a stronger "sanctuary city" in Minneapolis.
The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee is pushing for a new set of policies they say will strengthen Minneapolis' separation ordinance, restricting local police from collaborating with federal immigration authorities.
This call to action follows a federal raid at a Lake Street restaurant in June where MPD assisted with crowd control. There is no evidence the raid back in June had anything to do with immigration, however, with Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt all saying it was a federal law enforcement operation targeting drug and human trafficking.
"Yesterday's incident was a criminal investigation, so putting out the rhetoric that that was a raid, it was not a raid," Witt told reporters the day after the incident.
But, community organizers say this is an open invitation to city officials to collaborate with them on their strategies.
Community organizer Robyn Harbison says the campaign, titled "ICE Out of Minneapolis: Sanctuary for Real!” It outlines the specific demands as Harbison explains.
"Number one, no collusion, no information sharing between local law enforcement and federal agencies," says Harbison. "Two, no crowd control. Three, no cover-ups."
They're also calling on city officials to enforce Minneapolis's sanctuary city policy more rigorously.
Organizer Vash Lamp says this call for change comes after the MPD helped with crowd control during a federal raid on Lake Street back in June.
"MPD showed up well before the chief of police said that they did, to assist them, in various different ways," Harbison claims. "It's, yeah, it's unfortunately a situation where they say one thing, but in reality they are doing something completely different."
Meanwhile, the Minneapolis City Council is responding to the city auditor's Findings on the MPD's role in that federal raid.
The report, which found no violations of existing city ordinances, has still prompted council members to call for a re-examination of the collaboration between local and federal law enforcement.
Ward 9 Councilmember Jason Chavez says it highlights the need for a stronger city separation ordinance, and confirmed that ICE agents were present during the raid.
"Anyone who says that we should not be spreading awareness that ICE was present is complicit with the out-of-control Trump administration, and anyone who said that elected officials spread misinformation should retract their statements," Chavez said Tuesday. "And I will publicly ask the chief to please retract this statement again."
The council says it's now focused on building more specific policies to address the gaps identified in the review.
"This is an opportunity for the administration, for the council, for the community, to come together and figure out a plan on how we're gonna fight the federal government," added Ward 4 Councilmember LaTrisha Vetaw.
The city also provided WCCO Radio with more detailed information on how they intend to move ahead with immigration policies. Those include:
No Collusion - No local law enforcement information sharing with federal agencies.
Under the City’s Separation Ordinance, the Minneapolis Police Department does not coordinate civil immigration enforcement with federal agencies. Our policies make clear: civil immigration enforcement is not MPD’s role.
MPD does continue to work with federal partners on criminal investigations unrelated to civil immigration enforcement, as required by law, and to keep our community safe. Sharing criminal case information is part of the department’s duty to protect residents, but civil immigration enforcement is not their role, and MPD does not collect information on immigration status.
No Crowd Control - No local law enforcement cooperation with ICE, HSI, and other federal agencies, including supportive roles like crowd control and police taping.
MPD does not assist federal civil immigration operations—period. Officers will, however, respond to 911 calls from residents and must keep our community safe. Their sole responsibility is to safeguard the community they serve.
No Cover-Ups
No face coverings to coverings to obscure federal agents’ identities. Federal agents must wear identifying information, such as agency association, badge numbers, and name plates.
This is a request for federal agents.
Real Consequences - Put punitive measures in place for local law enforcement found to be in violation of the city’s separation ordinance.
The audit confirms that on June 3, both the City and MPD fully complied with the Separation Ordinance. The separation ordinance provides that an employee who violates the ordinance “shall be subject to disciplinary action under the appropriate union contract, civil service commission rules, or department work rules.”