Community members packed a Minneapolis City Council committee meeting on Tuesday to show disapproval for the city’s handling of a chaotic federal sting on Lake Street in June.
The sting, involving dozens of federal agents, some not in uniform, led to a standoff with protesters who flooded the area — and a public relations problem for the city, after Minneapolis police showed up to perform crowd control.
A city audit released Tuesday said a “void of information” existed as the sting unfolded, leaving key city officials, and community members in the dark.
Council members were not officially informed about the raid until about four hours after police were notified, the city auditor’s report found.
And while the audit found that the city did not violate its policies, which prohibit police from assisting in federal immigration actions, many at the Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday called for a more robust plan to be put in place for future incidents.
“It’s obvious that as the council members who represent the community, who speak the language, who the community trusts, we should be able to get communication,” said Council Member Jamal Osman.
Osman said that Council Member Jason Chavez, who represents the ward where the raid took place and went to the scene trying to gather more information, should have been notified right away.
The federal raid took place on June 3, at the Taqueria y Birrieria las Cuatro Milpas at the intersection of E. Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue. Armed and uniformed officers from multiple federal agencies stationed themselves outside of the restaurant. Among them were Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
At least 100 protestors clashed with local and federal officers at the intersection, a diverse area that is home to many immigrants and immigrant-owned businesses. The raid was tied to a search warrant which was part of a drug and money laundering investigation, which involved multiple raids across the Twin Cities metro area. But the presence of ICE agents spurred fear that it was an immigration raid.
Minneapolis police officers responded after a request from the FBI and assisted with crowd control, which the audit found was not a violation of the city’s policies. City officials did not have prior knowledge that the raid was going to take place, and Minneapolis police officers were not “directly” involved in the federal operation, the audit says.
“The MPD has an obligation to protect our residents and does not have authority over federal law enforcement,” said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara in a statement following the audit’s release.
“We need everyone in the community to work collaboratively with the MPD in the future, as we inevitably will once again be faced with an unforeseen circumstance where we must gather facts and de-escalate to protect life and safety for everyone. That’s what we did on June 3rd, and that’s what the MPD will continue to do every day.”
But several City Council members and community members said that Minneapolis police officers being present at a federal raid that ICE participated in was deeply concerning. Following the event, council members unanimously voted for the city auditor to complete an after-action review of the incident to evaluate the city’s response.
Minneapolis has a separation ordinance, which was established more than 20 years ago. The ordinance says that “public safety officials shall not undertake any law enforcement action for the purpose of detecting the presence of undocumented persons, or to verify immigration status.”
The ordinance allows public safety officials to assist federal law enforcement in an investigation into criminal activity, even if those involved may be in violation of federal civil immigration laws.
While the audit found that the city did not violate the ordinance during the June 3 raid, City Auditor Robert Timmerman said the ordinance is “outdated.” When the ordinance was adopted, ICE did not exist.
“City leaders should collaborate to update regulatory language to reinforce their intentions to meet the needs of the current moment and the rapidly changing landscape of federal immigration enforcement,” the audit says.
Several council members said during Tuesday’s meeting that the ordinance failed the community and that they want to implement stronger language.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues here .. to make sure that we have a strong separation ordinance that says that ICE is not welcome in our community,” Chavez said.
Community members, including many from the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), said they do not want Minneapolis police officers to assist in operations like the raid that occurred in June, even through measures like crowd control.
“Now more than ever, it’s crucial that Minneapolis’ separation ordinance functions to ensure that our local police do not become another tool used to suppress dissent and instill fear in our communities,” said Julia Pearlstein, a member of MIRAC.
