Mankato explores ordinance requiring federal agents to demask, wear IDs and body cams
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The Mankato City Council is preparing an emergency ordinance that would better hold accountable agencies from outside the city carrying out law enforcement activities in Mankato.
The measure would prohibit out-of-town law enforcement officers, such as those working for ICE and Border Patrol, from wearing masks while requiring them to have visible identification of the agency for which they work; and, it would require them to wear body cameras.
The text of the proposed emergency ordinance isn’t available yet, said Susan Arntz, Mankato’s City Manager, as the city’s legal team works to draft language that would be legally enforceable and that could take effect immediately upon passage.
“This is being developed as an emergency ordinance, which, if adopted, will go into effect right away,” said Arntz, in an email.
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But she notes that an emergency ordinance would expire after 60 days, so a second ordinance would need to be approved through the regular process to replace the emergency measure.
There are plans to bring specific ordinance language to the next city council meeting on Feb. 23, and the council must hold a public hearing at least 10 days after it is officially introduced. That could occur at the March 9 city council meeting, and the council could vote on it right after hearing public comment on the measure.
It’s unclear how the city would enforce the ordinance. The city of Mankato does have authority to create ordinances “intended to protect the health, welfare and safety of individuals within its jurisdiction,” according to a memo to the city council.
But there’s also a caveat that some local authority “may be preempted by state or federal laws.”
In greater Minnesota, federal immigration enforcement activity has caused headaches for county and municipal leaders, community members and police departments, many of whom say they’ve been left in the dark by federal authorities about their operations. Some say that lack of communication and transparency has thrust local officials into the middle of tensions and heated confrontations between local residents and federal officers during operations carried out in their towns.
Jeremy Clifton, director of Mankato Department of Public Safety, said in an email that the city’s police had “very limited contact with ICE during their current operations in Mankato.”
“Our officers respond to all 911 calls involving ICE and the community,” Clifton said. “After receiving a call for service to the scene of an active ICE operation, our focus is to provide a safe and secure environment for everyone. We are not there to assist ICE.”
