Minneapolis City Council president says immigration enforcement still active in Minneapolis
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Five days after federal officials announced hundreds of immigration agents would be leaving Minneapolis, City Council President Elliott Payne says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is still visibly active in the city.
Payne represents many of Minneapolis's northeast neighborhoods and has been on the streets and sidewalks observing agents in his ward.
He said he has seen ICE in the neighborhood each day. Over the weekend, he said agents pulled over two Latino men in their vehicles without cause. Payne also had to personally tell agents they could not park on city property.
“They're continuing to intimidate and terrorize the community,” Payne said.
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“And I think that the goal of Tom Homan switching out for Gregory Bovino is purely optics and damage control. It's not actually a change in their tactics of intimidation and indiscriminate apprehension.”
Payne and other city council members asked Gov. Tim Walz for a statewide eviction moratorium in January. This morning, Walz’s office told MPR News, “the governor is open to exploring all avenues to helping people, but he does not currently have the legal authority to enact an eviction moratorium.”
The Minneapolis City Council voted last week to allocate $1 million in one-time rental assistance to families facing eviction.
“It's been our community that's actually been the vanguard of opposition to this complete lawless operation,” Payne said. “And I think that we need to have local and state government step into a stronger leadership role, especially as we think about recovery.”
Payne said he is still asking for an eviction moratorium, as well as economic assistance to help struggling workers and businesses.
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