Richfield council hears residents recount ICE encounters, details city actions including emergency ordinance and outreach

Residents at Richfield City Council’s Feb. 10 meeting described recent immigration-enforcement encounters and urged the city to document and mitigate local harms, while city staff outlined steps already taken, including an emergency ordinance, outreach pages and assistance programs.

Betsy Stark recounted witnessing ICE agents chase and remove a man at a busy intersection and said a responding Richfield officer told her the department would not file a report: “They they don't do that for this.” Stark asked the Police Department to begin creating reports when officers assist at immigration-enforcement scenes and to document abandoned vehicles and community costs tied to removals.

City Manager Rodriguez said the council adopted an emergency ordinance banning federal "staging" — defined in the ordinance as assembling or deploying vehicles, equipment or materials on city-owned property — but made clear the ordinance “does not prohibit federal vehicles from the property, but rather from using it to stage their operations.” He urged residents to call 911 when they believe staging is occurring so dispatch can send officers to document potential violations.

Rodriguez listed other city actions: new web pages with legal rights, housing and utility resources, business and health resources, regular updates in the Richfield recap newsletter and outreach via La Raza Radio. He also said staff and the mayor met with local business owners to assess impacts and will send a metro-wide survey; the city has a $50,000 contract with VEEP for rental assistance and the HRA is considering additional support.

On legal strategy, City Attorney Tietjen summarized a lawsuit filed Jan. 12 by the state and the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul challenging elements of the federal operation known in testimony as "Operation Metro Surge." The plaintiffs asked for a preliminary injunction, which a court denied on Jan. 30; Tietjen said the denial is not a decision on the case’s merits. Richfield did not join as a plaintiff but joined an amicus brief with several suburban cities to present municipal impacts to the court.

Council members asked whether Richfield could include local eviction defenses for tenants whose loss of income is directly tied to ICE actions. Tietjen said staff are discussing draft ordinance language and hope to present options to the council.

Rodriguez said the city has joined a nonpartisan coalition called Cities for Safe and Stable Communities to coordinate outreach and advocacy and is pursuing trauma-sensitive community spaces in coordination with Bloomington Public Health and local schools. The council did not take additional formal action at the meeting beyond these staff updates and the adoption of previously noticed emergency measures.

The council adjourned after the discussion; next procedural steps include staff drafting any proposed local ordinance language and continued outreach to affected residents and businesses.