Minneapolis City Council adds $500,000 for immigrant legal aid as ICE activity continues
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The Minneapolis City Council moved to boost funding for the city's immigrant legal services by $500,000 Tuesday, as the federal immigration crackdown enters its third month.
Council members said it’s a necessary step to keep families together and protect residents who are being targeted by federal agents, including noncitizens who have no criminal background, asylum-seekers and children.
Council Member Jason Chavez brought up the example of a 2-year-old girl who was taken by federal agents and sent to Texas. With the help of lawyers, the child was able to come home. He said he wants more success stories like that one.
“It's clear that we need to continue to build capacity for habeas corpus and legal assistance so that our neighbors do not end up in inhumane camps for long periods of time,” he said.
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Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said she was fielding text messages that same day about ICE agents circling around schools. She referenced the reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deploying chemical irritants at observers at Powderhorn Park Sunday morning, and she said there is no sign that the federal immigration operation has slowed.
“Things haven’t drawn down. Knowing this could last longer, we need to continue to build up this resiliency,” she said. “It’s important that the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs builds its trust with this community … that’s how all of the resources are being accessed right now, as trusted networks and word of mouth.”
The budget amendment will need a final vote at the full council meeting Thursday and is expected to pass.
It would move $500,000 in unallocated public safety aid to the fire department, then shift the same amount to the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs.
“This is a budget neutral decision,” said Council Member Aisha Chughtai who added that for the past several years, the amount of money that gets appropriated for immigration legal services has been used in full each year.
“That as a baseline speaks to the fact that this level of need is always existing in our community,” she said. “And that in this moment of crisis the need is appropriately elevated and increased.”
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