City employees, including police, will not assist in immigration enforcement
Minneapolis became the first U.S. city to pass a resolution supporting the repeal of the Alien Enemies Act, a law last used during World War II to detain Japanese, German and Italian Americans without due process. President Trump had pledged to revive the 200-year-old law as part of his campaign to carry out the largest deportation in U.S. history.
At his inauguration, Trump said, “By invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate all foreign gangs and criminal networks.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey expressed strong opposition to the potential revival of the law. “It allows for people to be detained and deported not based on any criminal activity, but based on where they come from,” said Frey. “That runs against every value that we hold in Minneapolis. It is an act that should have long ago been repealed in full, and I’m glad that she’s [Rep. Ilhan Omar] bringing it forward now so that it is ultimately eliminated.”
Aisha Chughtai, city council VP from Ward 10, shared how personal these policies are. “The impact of this administration is not abstract to me. It feels it is deeply personal,” said Chughtai. “I think that to be a person with any marginalized identity — but in particular to be an immigrant, a child of immigrants, a refugee in this country right now — is a really, really scary experience. It is a really uncertain experience.”
“Stephen Miller and Donald Trump are preparing to use this law for their plan of mass deportation,” warned Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has reintroduced the law that would repeal the AEA. “The context in which Trump and Miller are raising the Alien Enemies Act is in what they say are their plans to target cartels and transnational criminal gangs.
Legal experts suggest Trump is pursuing a two-pronged approach: first designating drug cartels in Mexico and Latin America as terrorist organizations, and then using that designation to invoke the law. Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel at the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, said, “Those cartels and gangs do not have political motivations. They are business entities, obviously illicit business entities, and so, transnational criminal organizations.”
“It is important,” said Omar, “to recognize that this will not happen because of anything they have done. It will happen because of where they were born. Our country is far too great to fall prey to Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda, and we need to do everything possible to restore basic humanity to our immigration system.”
In response to the potential implications of such actions, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey emphasized the city’s stance on protecting immigrant communities: “We do not ask a question with regard to immigration status… Our police officers will not be cooperating with federal law enforcement around federal immigration law… The answer is no.”
He added, “I think all of us can understand how to feel if you’re dropping your kid off in the morning and not knowing whether you’re going to see them. I don’t think there’s anything that’s more profound than that.”
Councilmember Jason Chavez highlighted that the struggles faced by migrants have been ongoing long before Trump’s presidency. “While this administration, the Trump administration, has been 10 times worse, this is not new,” said Chavez.
He emphasized the longstanding challenges, adding, “Our community has been hiding in the shadows with every single presidential administration, and now we are seeing the public being outraged again, which is good. We should be outraged every single year that this happens because this is not new. But we are seeing it 10 times worse, and we need our neighbors to stand up with us.”
Colleen Riley, a volunteer with the Minnesota Immigration Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), expressed cautious optimism about the progress being made but emphasized the limits of local efforts. “I’m glad that these steps are being taken to help protect our community members. However, this city ordinance can only go so far,” said Riley.
She also mentioned the growing interest in their efforts, noting, “February 8, I believe we are full because of the large amount of interest in our next training session for Know Your Rights issues. However, we will continue to hold additional ones coming up in March. I’d just like to echo what Councilmember Jason Chavez said about how we’re in unprecedented times and people should take unprecedented action to help our communities.”
Minneapolis has a separation ordinance that prevents city employees from cooperating with ICE. In response to the potential implications of such actions, Michelle Rivero, who leads the city’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, reiterated that city officials will not assist in federal immigration enforcement.
“The city’s separation ordinance governs city employee conduct and makes it very clear that city employees do not inquire about immigration status,” she said. “City employees, including Minneapolis police and other public safety officers, do not support, do not assist in immigration enforcement operations.”
Clint Combs welcomes reader responses to ccombs@spokesman-recorder.com.