Expert: Gov. Walz 'cautious' with eviction moratorium decision given legal, political factors

Advocates are scrambling to raise money for March rent. It's for the families that are still in hiding and losing income from the Minnesota immigration enforcement surge. A coalition of unions in the state are calling for a rent strike in solidarity with those families starting Mar. 1, and many others are asking Gov. Tim Walz to enact an eviction moratorium and rent relief payments for people unable to work during the surge of federal agents in the state. Advocates said they have crowdsourced hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the people in hiding, but that it is not sustainable for the long term.

Gov. Walz said that he can't enact a statewide eviction moratorium without declaring a peacetime emergency. And so far, he has been unwilling to make that move.

Larry Jacobs is the founder and director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota. He said that for Gov. Walz, calling for a peacetime emergency is a risky move in this case because it would be hard to meet the specific conditions required to legally call for a peacetime emergency.

“My suspicion is that the governor and the legal people around them are saying, well, with COVID-19, we could use it, because COVID-19 met some of those legal conditions. But with ICE, it's probably going to be more difficult in the courts. And then it could be overturned,” Jacobs said.

According to state law, conditions for a peacetime emergency include crises such as a natural disaster, a cyber attack, a terrorist attack or a civil disturbance.

Additionally, Jacobs said there are political implications if Walz makes the call for a peacetime emergency.

“Even with COVID-19, as time went on, the governor's declaration of a peacetime emergency became less popular. With the ICE situation, it's quite possible that the decline in support would come even quicker. So I think he is being cautious here,” Jacobs said. “He doesn't want to run the risk of being reversed in court, and then getting reversed in the court of public opinion.”

If Gov. Walz were to call for a peacetime emergency in order to start an eviction moratorium, Jacobs said he would eventually have to answer to House Republicans, who would need to vote to approve an extension of the emergency past 30 days. He said that Republicans would likely make the peacetime emergency front and center.

“They could hold hearings on it. They could make the argument that it’s hurting those folks that do own property, and that it may backfire over the long-term.”

Jacobs said that Gov. Walz may be hoping that the economic strain some Minnesotans are facing from the ICE surge will pass in the short-term.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

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