St. Paul Mayor Her addresses challenges in city in week 7 of immigration enforcement

NINA MOINI: We're now in the seventh week of heightened immigration enforcement presence in Minnesota. And throughout this time, we've been checking in with local leaders about what they're seeing in their community and how they're responding. Joining me now is St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her. Mayor Her, welcome to the program. Thanks for being here.

KAOHLY HER: Thank you for having me.

NINA MOINI: We've heard from a lot of people who have just been saying they're simply tired. Doesn't really even matter what position they hold, motivated but tired. And like I mentioned, we're here in week seven. So for many in the state, it feels like there's been a building intensity. How are you feeling at this point of almost two months?

KAOHLY HER: I think that this is the pace that we've been going for many, many months. And so I don't anything different but to be going at this pace. It would be great for us to have a little bit of a breather. But I know that residents are tired, and they have been showing up 24/7 for each other. So I can understand the sentiment that everybody is feeling.

NINA MOINI: The federal government has accused local and state leaders, like yourself, of not cooperating with DHS. DHS has blocked state law enforcement from the shooting investigations. And we know yesterday, the governor had his first conversation with President Trump about what's happening in the state of Minnesota. What do you want to see moving forward from the federal government?

KAOHLY HER: I would like to see the federal government comply with people's constitutional and civil and human rights. I think that at the core of us working together is that we have to believe in people's fundamental rights. And that is not even in alignment right now. And so if we could just go back to the basics of that, we can figure out how we're going to move forward together.

NINA MOINI: And we know Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino was set to leave town today, along with some agents. What are you learning about any numbers there? Do you have an idea for how many agents are leaving? And do you sense that it'll make a noticeable difference? because I'm also hearing from some elected leaders who say, don't think that this is over. Don't stop going out and observing. How are you feeling about this talk of a bit of a slowdown, it sounds like?

KAOHLY HER: Yeah, so there hasn't been any communication with our federal government or the agencies with my office here. So I don't have any idea of the number that we'll be leaving and how this will change the landscape. But I'm an eternal optimist. I have a great deal of hope that this is going to move us into the right direction. But I also agree that we have to remain vigilant because we have seen from this administration that sometimes, a lot of times, what is being said doesn't match what's actually happening on the ground. And so we have to remain cautiously optimistic.

NINA MOINI: The Minnesota Reformer reported that in St. Paul, in your city, at least a quarter of students from Spanish-speaking homes have missed every day of school since December 12. What are you planning for just some of the longer term impacts on students in particular?

KAOHLY HER: It's heartbreaking. When we look at even just short periods of time that students are out of the learning environment, that there is huge decline in outcomes. I actually just met with our superintendent and school district with a group of elected officials from different levels of government. And we've seen in our school district, I think, I can't remember exactly, but it was about seven or 8,000 students who shifted to online schooling. And though that is a good alternative, there's nothing that replaces the ability to be in a classroom and to be learning together.

And to see the number of students opting tells me that there is still more work to be done and that families are still afraid. And it is just not a matter of missing school. But when we move to these environments, the engagement is different. And so I hope that lawmakers and decision makers and those at the federal government can see the impact this is having in our communities and take that into consideration as they're thinking about other strategies moving forward.

NINA MOINI: Did you talk about any specifics? I know the situation is still ongoing, but are you considering anything from adding school days or other types of options as time goes on?

KAOHLY HER: Yeah, and I want to respect that our school districts, they have their own jurisdiction. We have school board members who make those types of decisions. But I am open to however it is that the city needs to partner with our school district to do the best to honor our students and their learning.

NINA MOINI: Let's talk about some of the other ripple effects that you are aiming to try to address. Last week, the city council passed and you signed off on a resolution calling for Governor Walz to enact an eviction moratorium for families that haven't been able to go to work because they're scared to leave their homes. Have you had any further conversations with the governor about that becoming a reality?

KAOHLY HER: I think that this ultimately is a decision the governor has to make. There are things that he is weighing that no one else could possibly understand or know. And so we are making our wishes known as to what we would like to see. But further conversation around this particular topic we have not had. I've been really thankful for the partnership between the governor's office, Mayor Frey, AG Ellison, and myself and all of us in making sure that we're working together and making decisions together.

There's many other things that we are considering here in our city. There's no sweeping policy or legislation that we can pass to address what is happening in our city, but we are working on, potentially within the next day or two, being able to report out to our residents the different levers that we are pulling to help address the needs that are being experienced by our businesses, by our families, and how our law enforcement is adjusting in order to meet the needs that are in front of us right now. So we hope to be able to share that information out shortly.

NINA MOINI: Your office was subpoenaed by the Department of Justice, along with Mayor Jacob Frey in Minneapolis, his office, Governor Walz's office, and the Attorney General's Office. Last week said you would comply with a subpoena. Can you talk about where you are at in that process?

KAOHLY HER: Yeah, so we are looking at what the request is in the subpoena. We have been working very closely with our legal team, our city attorney's office. And we're looking at our options and weighing them right now.

NINA MOINI: When you took office, I'm sure there were so many things that you really wanted to tackle that your constituents voted you in as a new mayor hoping for things to be tackled. And you obviously were sworn in and jumped right into this ongoing situation. Are there things that have had to be put on the back burner because of everything that has been going on in the Twin Cities? What are some of the priorities that you're looking to get back to?

KAOHLY HER: Yeah, I will say that I'm really proud of this team that we have in the mayor's office here. I think I am the first mayor in the history of our city to have moved away from our normal structure of a mayor and a deputy mayor system. We have four assistant mayors. And what I can say is that I'm really thankful that we moved to that model because as our first assistant mayor, Erica Schumacher, and I have been working on public safety and putting out the fires that are in front of us, that our other assistant mayors who are overseeing different lines of business continue to actually move the business forward.

So all of the work that we promised our residents here around better coordination between departments, looking at greater efficiencies in how we license and permit, how to continue to work with our developers and building residential to redevelop our downtown here. And we actually continue to move on that work, and all of that in addition to making sure that our parks and libraries continue to show up and meet the moment but also continue programming that our families need right now. And so all of that work continues to move forward. And I'm really thankful for the changes that we made to actually facilitate that and allow it.

NINA MOINI: And just lastly, I know I started the interview talking about people are feeling fatigue. Others are feeling more motivated than ever. What are you telling your constituents who may be living in fear or feeling just worn out at this time? What are you telling them?

KAOHLY HER: Yeah, there is a lot of fear right now. And what I tell people is, if you are afraid, and you have legitimate reasons to be afraid, please, don't go out. Don't put yourself in what you might feel is harm's way. But for those who feel safe, who are not targeted, that continue to be out, that we are tired, we are weary. But this won't last forever.

And that is the spirit of our St. Paulites and Minnesotans here is that we may be challenged, we may be pushed, but our spirit will never be broken. And that we can just wake up every day and do one more day. And how do we show up one more day for each other? And how do we show up one more day to give to each other? because we're going to get through this. And before we know it, we would have weathered through weeks and weeks of this siege in our city. But we will get through this together because that's what we've always done.

NINA MOINI: Thanks for your time, Mayor Her.

KAOHLY HER: Thank you for having me.

NINA MOINI: That was St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her.