Minnesota Latino groups form coalition to push for action and support after federal surge

NINA MOINI: A coalition of 13 Latino-led organizations across Minnesota is pushing lawmakers to take action on immigration enforcement and economic support for communities affected by the recent ICE surge. The group called The Minnesota Latino Leadership Alliance has laid out a set of legislative priorities including support for the proposed Star Act. It would limit how state and local governments cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

Aaron Sepulveda is the legislative and policy director with the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs and is part of this Alliance. He joins me now. Thanks so much for your time, Aaron.

AARON SEPULVEDA: Good afternoon. Nina. It's nice to be with you.

NINA MOINI: First, can you explain exactly what Minnesota Latino Leadership Alliance is all about and why these organizations joined together as a coalition?

AARON SEPULVEDA: Sure. So the Minnesota Latino Leadership Alliance, or MILLA as we most often refer to it as, it's 13 organizations that through a collective advocacy and collaborative strategization seek to make some of the policy changes and create the outcome changes for our community that we feel is best done in unity. I think there's so many circumstances where in which the Latino community is underrepresented or disproportionately impacted, and the ways in which organizations that support that community have historically worked is independently just by nature of having to respond to certain crises or issues in small communities. But by taking a more collaborative approach, we can-- we feel-- do much more work, particularly at the highest level where change can happen, which is in state government and amongst local governments, too.

NINA MOINI: I wonder how you set this agenda and decide which topics are the most critical because there are probably many different areas. And in terms of the ripple effect that the ICE surge had that you all are focusing your efforts. One of the central proposals you're supporting is the Star Act like I mentioned at the top there. It would limit how local government can work with federal immigration agents. Can you explain why this was a priority for your coalition?

AARON SEPULVEDA: Sure. Yeah. These priorities come from foremost organizations that are experts and community leaders in what they do. So they know what's going on in all types of different industries, in all corners of the state. And in addition to that, what we plan for and what we talked about back in September and August when we were deciding what we wanted to approach in this legislative session ultimately necessarily wasn't what we had to focus on because it didn't reflect what was the most urgent thing at the time.

So when the federal immigration action started picking up in earnest in late December and early January, that was when we knew we had to respond in kind in the way in which we as a coalition best knew how, which was through advocacy again at the highest level with the state legislature, which with policymakers who we knew could help institute this change that simultaneously we were hearing the community wanted.

NINA MOINI: There was an earlier version of the Star Act that was introduced to the legislature in 2024. It didn't get much traction. Why is it different or is it different this year? Are you seeing more support?

The Star Act would prohibit state and local law enforcement from honoring ICE detainers, which are requests from the federal government for local authorities to hold inmates for up to 48 hours after their release so federal authorities can take them into custody for immigration issues without a judicial warrant. So I just want to make sure everybody knows what we're talking about. Do you feel you're seeing more support of this in light of the past few months here in the state?

AARON SEPULVEDA: I would say yes and also back in 2024, I think these things were still important and were still significant. I think they were just also much more abstract. That idea of federal detainers, that was a lost conversation point that required a lot of background knowledge for folks to fill. And we've gotten that knowledge now in a very firsthand way.

It was very abstract, the idea that schools, hospitals, courts were safe spaces that the Department of Homeland Security wouldn't previously encroach upon for the purposes of federal immigration action. And we saw in January and in February the need to reestablish that as a legal parameter within state law. It no longer became a thing that could happen. It was a thing that did happen, and we understood in a much more real way the impacts I think all across the state.

NINA MOINI: Because part of the legislation also would limit schools, health care facilities from interacting with ice without a warrant, again, signed by a judge, which is a key there. So your alliance though is also focused on the economic toll that has come out of the ICE surge. The city of Minneapolis, again, has estimated that restaurants, small businesses lost about $81 million in revenue from slowed business from the ICE surge. What have Latino business owners and workers been telling you about where they're at now and how soon they need some type of aid?

AARON SEPULVEDA: Yeah. So I'll focus on the last part first, which is immediately. The sooner that we can do something, the better. The impacts that Latino businesses but also many businesses where there was any kind of federal immigration action or the threat of federal immigration action have been suffering since February and January in drastic ways, but we should really remember that federal immigration action picked up well before that.

And so you can refer to a Star Tribune articles from September going up and down Lake Street talking to businesses where they were already experiencing 50% year over year revenue losses. That just got substantially worse in January and February. And so what was already probably somewhat of a crisis for these businesses only became something much more than that. These-- even if the actions are less than they were, they were where-- they are still much higher than they were two years ago.

And moreover we're working from a place of such deficit where these businesses have already seen such tremendous revenue losses that it's going to take a long time for them to dig out with or without state action, but certainly we hope that state action is made available in order that they can dig out faster.

NINA MOINI: Well, it could be challenging to pass legislation with the Minnesota House so closely divided. What kinds of conversations are you having with lawmakers about how to get your proposals moving forward? Do you feel like there's room for anyone to flip or change their mind?

AARON SEPULVEDA: I think that there is a lot of opportunity for compassion in a way that immigration-- conversations around immigrants, immigrant communities, marginalized communities haven't had in recent years, if I can say because the experiences that I think were most evident on Lake Street and in West St. Paul, those were by no means isolated. They were most visible there, but certainly there are many communities in the state where immigrants, Latinos, Somalis, West Africans, they play such pivotal roles.

You can think about Wilmer. You can think about Worthington. These are largely immigrant communities with really prominent downtown business areas, and the legislators in those areas, they understand the impacts that are happening.

They-- there's more that goes into passing legislation than a single story of a group of people or an instance, but we really feel that there is a moment for collaboration and community that uplifts everyone across the state, certainly as Latinos and Latino-serving organizations. Those are the folks who we care about most, but we really believe that the impacts of the legislation that we're supportive of has ramifications well beyond that across partisan lines, across geographic areas, everywhere. And we think that that's compelling.

NINA MOINI: And, Aaron, just lastly, we know that the drawdown has happened the government says and our state leaders have confirmed. But for Latino Minnesotans who may be feeling this continued uncertainty, grief, fear, what message do you want them to hear from leaders who are working on these issues at the Capitol?

AARON SEPULVEDA: We need to hear that this is not a done affair. I think many legislators, the governor has been very clear, acknowledging the fact that the impacts from this event are long term and may in some ways be traumatic. So they're not just felt in terms of lost revenues but also in people and how people feel in terms of how they belong in the community. We need to hear that more. And we also need to see that be recognized as a priority. Because once we acknowledge this as a problem that we're doing something about it, then all of a sudden, Latino community members can say, hey, things were bad, but I see that people both acknowledge that and are working to resolve that.

NINA MOINI: All right, Aaron, thank you so much for coming on Minnesota Now and sharing your perspective. Really appreciate it.

AARON SEPULVEDA: Thank you, Nina. Thank you for having us. Wish you well.

NINA MOINI: Thank you. That's Aaron Sepulveda, legislative and policy director with the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs.