Minneapolis council member Chavez: We are not going to rest until ICE operation ends

[MUSIC PLAYING] NINA MOINI: It's been more than two months since a surge of ICE agents arrived in Minnesota. And while DHS said that it removed about 700 agents from the 3,000 that were in the state last week, some Minneapolis City Council members said they have seen no change in ICE action on the ground. One of those city council members is Jason Chavez. Council Member Chavez, thanks for joining me again today.

JASON CHAVEZ: And thanks for having me.

NINA MOINI: We've been hearing, again, a lot from DHS about a drawdown of some of the ICE agent presence in the state. The White House official, again, in charge of the Minnesota immigration enforcement surge is Tom Homan.

He said last week 700 agents were leaving, still leaving more than some 2,000 agents here. What are you seeing on the ground? What concerns you about the drawdown and potential reaction to it because a lot of people are saying, well, isn't this a good thing?

JASON CHAVEZ: Yeah, I mean, one of the concerns that we will continue to have is that people will assume that they are safe with around 700 agents off the streets here in Minneapolis and Minnesota. But the reality is that we know that we will not rest until ICE is no longer here in this state.

We know that many of our neighbors have been getting kidnapped in Minneapolis this weekend itself, whether you were on Lake Street, in Northeast, in the central part of our neighborhoods, even today. We have seen many of our neighbors continue to be separated from their families because of inhumane tactics by ICE. So we are not going to rest. Our neighbors are not going to rest until this operation ends and ICE is no longer here in Minnesota.

NINA MOINI: What were you seeing and hearing in the areas that you serve and across Minneapolis over the past weekend?

JASON CHAVEZ: Yeah, many of our neighbors continue to observe, continue to drive around our neighborhoods, and they continue to see confirmed ICE vehicles across South Minneapolis. You've been seeing it in Northeast Minneapolis, and you've seen an increased presence in the suburbs.

So what we know is that people alerting their neighbors about immigration enforcement is literally helping save lives. But we also know that people cannot get confident just yet. And it's still important to be safe, to make a plan. And we still need our neighbors to support our immigrant community who is still struggling. And they're still hiding in the shadows.

NINA MOINI: Hiding in the shadows, some people for more than two months now. That's a really long time. It's hard to imagine that people could be staying inside like that. Tell us about some of the measures that you're taking and your colleagues are taking to try to support people who feel like they can't leave their homes right now.

JASON CHAVEZ: Yeah, many people are going back into the shadows. They are really scared to go outside, to pick up groceries, to throw their trash out, to move their cars, to drive to work, to even be at work because of raids that are happening.

Some of the measures we are taking, which we believe is the responsibility of city government, especially if we are asking our neighbors to donate and contribute to GoFundMes, is what we put half a million into increased immigration legal services. So that was an action that we took last week. It was passed unanimously by the city council.

And then we put $1 million into rental assistance to start a program contract with Hennepin County, and that passed with a 9 to 4 vote on the city council. We're still awaiting the mayor's signature. And these programs are meant to support our neighbors who are severely impacted.

We also that Operation Metro Surge is severely impacting our constituents, who are struggling to pay the bills and pay their rent. So we're hoping that this can help assist some of our neighbors and also help bring and keep families together with the legal assistance. So this is-- we had already funded extra legal services in December and as a part of the budget. So now we have around a little over $1 million for that as well.

NINA MOINI: Can you talk a little bit about how that would be distributed? I know sometimes there's some steps that have to be done, and people don't always see the money that they need right away. How soon do you think those types of funds would get into the hands of people who may need it right now?

JASON CHAVEZ: Yeah, so we're going to have to start a program with Hennepin County, a contract with Hennepin County. They already do rental assistance, if that makes sense.

And we're really hoping that the mayor doesn't veto, that way, we can as quickly as possible have staff work on the contract with Hennepin County so we can make sure that those details are written in the contract and that we can get these dollars out the door. But people apply through the county system to make sure that they can get this assistance when it's needed and that they have a need, which many of our neighbors have.

NINA MOINI: At the state level, you and some of your colleagues had called upon Governor Tim Walz to enact an eviction moratorium to try to help people who may be in that situation. Governor Walz's office told MPR News today that the governor's open to exploring all avenues to helping people, but he does not currently have the legal authority to enact an eviction moratorium. Is that still something that you think should be enacted or attempted?

JASON CHAVEZ: Yeah, we disagree with the governor's analysis here. We think political will is very necessary to keep families together. Without calling an eviction moratorium, the reality is that many of our immigrant neighbors are going to be displaced.

At the same time, if the governor is unwilling to support our immigrant neighbors, then I hope he drastically funds rental assistance to prevent the displacement of our community members who are drastically impacted.

So I was very disappointed to hear that he does not want to or believe in calling an eviction moratorium. But I hope that this means that he will actually fund rental assistance and join the city council in funding rental assistance because that is going to be really important to keeping families together. And at the end--

NINA MOINI: Because to be clear-- oh, I'm sorry, I was just going to say, to be clear--

JASON CHAVEZ: Go ahead.

NINA MOINI: --the eviction moratorium would be statewide. And the things that you and your colleagues are able to do are on the state and-- I'm sorry, on the city and county level, just so people know that that would impact a lot more people if that were to get through.

JASON CHAVEZ: And can I say this?

NINA MOINI: Of course. Go ahead.

JASON CHAVEZ: Can I say something?

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

JASON CHAVEZ: Thank you so much. This weekend itself, people were messaging me when I was in the streets and talking to me in person, saying thanks so much for that rental assistance. I really need some support. And when I told them that this is just for Minneapolis, they're like, why would he do that?

And it's like, I represent Minneapolis. And it's a very frustrating thing when people see that the city council took this action, but knowing that the suburbs also need the support, which is, to your point, why the eviction moratorium is important because it isn't just Minneapolis that's being impacted by ICE. It's a state-level thing.

NINA MOINI: I want to ask you a little bit while I have you, Council Member Chavez, about the role of observers, people who have been training to go out and observe and chronicle what's going on to try to help to uphold the constitutional rights of immigrants and in different situations and just due process for anybody, regardless of their status.

It's been two months. Are you seeing a lot of the same people going out there and doing this? Because I imagine that they are tired, and I'm sure you are tired as well. Are you still seeing a steady influx of more people volunteering to do that? What is that situation feeling like for you?

JASON CHAVEZ: People are here for the long run. We're always going to ask folks to take a breath, drink some water, and take care of their mental health. But the reality is that we are seeing folks tap in when it's needed the most.

So if someone is exhausted, someone else is going to come in and support in that very moment. The reality is that, yes, our neighbors are super exhausted. Many of them are not sleeping. They're working around the clock. They're working through the regular job and still have time to patrol, observe, provide mutual aid, drive their neighbors to work.

And what we are seeing is our neighbors continuing to show up. So yes, we are very exhausted. Our neighbors, in particular, are very exhausted. But they know that if we allow that exhaustion to take a toll on the mental health of an individual or to stop us from doing this work, then that's when more of our neighbors are going to get kidnapped by ICE.

So I see this as a movement that is very sustainable, with a lot of people learning how to be a part of it and how to support one another. And I'm not seeing our neighbors back down.

So that's why it's important for leaders to understand that even if there's a drawdown, even if there is a conversation of tactics changing, it is important to be out there on the ground and see it for yourself so that you can report to your constituents and your community what is happening to make sure that folks know the reality of the situation. And what we're seeing right now is still families being separated.

NINA MOINI: And just lastly, for today, Council Member Chavez, are you still seeing a level of national media attention? I know a lot of our local elected officials and our governor have been doing a lot of national media.

But ICE agents are federal agents have been deployed to other cities. And it's been a couple of months now. And we know that sometimes the national and international spotlight tends to fade, especially with all of this talk now about the drawdown. Are you concerned about just a loss of interest from the rest of the country and world?

JASON CHAVEZ: I'm very thankful for the rest of the country and the rest of the world. They have literally put a light on Minneapolis, and they have supported our neighbors by sharing what was happening in our city, by helping fundraise for families that were impacted by ICE and separated by ICE, by helping with rental assistance. Like those individuals, we are forever going to be thankful for them.

We do understand that a lot of the media attention has driven away from Minneapolis. But I hope people understand that we are still seeing families being separated. We are still seeing some of the same tactics that ICE was using to our neighbors. And the stories of Minneapolis residents are forever going to be in our hearts.

And the reality is that people here in Minneapolis, who I have deep appreciation and love for, are never going to forget what happened here and are going to continue doing what we have been doing since day one, which is uplifting and supporting our immigrant neighbors. So yes, there are concerns with that, but the most important thing is that Minneapolis residents know what's happening and that we are going to continue taking actions to our own hands.

NINA MOINI: Council Member Chavez, thanks for your time.

JASON CHAVEZ: Thank you so much for having me.

NINA MOINI: That was Minneapolis Council Member Jason Chavez.