Minneapolis City Council Advances Stronger Separation Ordinance Limiting ICE Cooperation
The Minneapolis City Council advanced major updates to its separation ordinance that limits city cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The revisions strengthen protections against federal immigration enforcement while preserving cooperation with federal agencies on serious criminal investigations, following months of advocacy and extensive public testimony.
After a packed Dec. 9 committee meeting, the Minneapolis City Council on Thursday, Dec. 11, advanced major updates to its two-decade-old separation ordinance limiting the city’s cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The vote had been delayed earlier in the week due to the volume of residents offering public testimony.
The revisions come amid growing concerns that ICE is operating as a rogue agency.
Images and video obtained by the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (MSR) show two vehicles, a Ford Expedition and a Ford Explorer, parked outside the Cedar Riverside Apartments with the same license plate number: FWK 387. Around 9:30 a.m. last Thursday, a federal agent is seen walking from the Expedition toward the building.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin did not respond to requests for comment. The state Attorney General’s Office referred questions to the Department of Public Safety, which also did not respond.
The updated ordinance aims to reinforce a firewall between federal immigration raids and general crime-fighting. It still allows the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) to work with federal agencies such as the FBI and ATF on investigations involving drug trafficking, human trafficking and street gangs prosecuted under federal RICO laws.
The measure also requires that any use of city staff during an unauthorized federal immigration action be documented and reported to the City Council. Although city leaders included language condemning federal agents who conceal their identities, the ordinance does not explicitly prohibit the wearing of masks or the obscuring of badges.
The city’s action follows months of advocacy from the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), which pushed for stricter measures. Those included requiring MPD officers to arrest federal agents who conceal their identities and mandating that MPD intervene to protect residents during raids or protests. Council President Elliott Payne voiced support for the arrest requirement, but the proposal did not make it into the final ordinance.
During the Dec. 9 Committee of the Whole meeting, Council Member Aurin Chowdhury clarified the limits of the measure.
“We are really laying out that the city, other than complying with lawful subpoenas or where required by law, shall not use city facilities, properties, money, equipment, technology or other resources for federal immigration law enforcement,” Chowdhury said. “There needs to be a properly issued judicial subpoena or other compulsory legal process.”
The council heard two hours of testimony.
Ryder Hales, a member of Unidos MN and a graduate student at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, emphasized the ordinance’s importance. “This is also an essential way to restore trust between residents and the police,” Hales said, “which we know is a strained relationship, to say the least.”
Hales said they were present at the Nov. 25 raid in St. Paul where police used tear gas on demonstrators, including members of the St. Paul City Council and the press. “Dozens of St. Paul officers in full riot gear used force to suppress the peaceful protest,” Hales said. “I was one of the many who got peppered that day while complying with all orders.”
Another Unidos MN member spoke to the fear within their community. “I am scared for my daughter’s daycare workers,” they said. “The majority of day care workers in my area are Hispanic, and we’ve seen people being dragged out of day cares in other cities. It could happen here.”
Ben Bergquam is among a growing number of out-of-state right-wing livestreamers who have traveled to the Twin Cities to broadcast ICE activity. Chowdhury highlighted the emotional toll this has taken on families and residents.
“…ICE and the federal administration are making fan-cam videos of their agents cuffing and arresting our community members, making TikToks and enjoying the cruelty they are expelling,” Chowdhury said.
Councilmember Jason Chavez spoke about the toll ICE raids have taken on Minneapolis’s Latino community. “Our community once again has to hide in the shadows,” Chavez said. He noted that immigrants, regardless of documentation status, are now afraid of mundane tasks such as moving a car.
“Not being able to move your car makes it more difficult during snow emergencies. So if you have immigrant neighbors, please offer them help. They can’t do it anymore because they’re scared of being snatched, which we are seeing.”
Hours before the Dec. 11 vote, ICE detained a woman driving a red Mitsubishi Mirage at the corner of 38th Street and Hiawatha Avenue. No responders were called after the vehicle was left running in the roadway.
Councilmembers Robin Wonsley and Jamal Osman were absent from the Dec. 9 meeting following a raid at the Cedar Riverside Apartments. Wonsley praised the Minneapolis activists who have mobilized in response.
“Minneapolis continues to demonstrate that they care about their neighbors,” Wonsley said. “I’m so inspired to see the courageous actions many of our neighbors and colleagues are taking to show up and support them.”
“They’re trying to intimidate all of us and also divide us, to say that one part of our community is ‘garbage’ or dangerous when that is absolutely wrong,” Chowdhury said. “If some of us are not free, then none of us are free.”
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