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Brooklyn Park resident urges citywide eviction moratorium, cites federal immigration enforcement
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Summary
Resident Casey Kazatz urged the Brooklyn Park City Council to adopt a citywide eviction moratorium, saying federal immigration enforcement and economic hardship are increasing risks for vulnerable residents and disputing claims that prior moratoria raised crime.
Casey Kazatz, a Brooklyn Park resident, urged the City Council during public comment to enact a citywide eviction moratorium, citing what Kazatz described as federal immigration-enforcement activity that is creating fear and economic hardship for vulnerable residents.
Kazatz told the council that the eviction-moratorium topic was discussed at a Jan. 26 work session and asked officials to continue the discussion toward action. “I’m calling on the mayor and the city council to enact the citywide eviction moratorium,” Kazatz said. She argued the police chief’s earlier suggestion that a statewide eviction moratorium increased crime was misleading and said the evidence shows correlation, not causation.
Kazatz cited Brooklyn Park’s 2021 Wilder Research evaluation, saying it identified economic insecurity and weak community connections as drivers of violence. She said the current presence of federal officers has heightened vulnerability and economic hardship for residents and that an eviction moratorium would provide immediate relief and protection for those most affected.
Another speaker, Mickey McElroy, asked the council to create a formal reporting system to record and share the number and locations of ICE encounters or detentions reported to police, saying public data would help residents be aware of enforcement activity and protect one another. City staff told McElroy that the police department records reported encounters when they are reported and that more formalized sharing could be discussed.
Why it matters: Council action on an eviction moratorium would be a local policy response to housing instability and community safety concerns raised by residents; it could affect tenants, landlords, and city enforcement priorities. The council did not take formal action on the moratorium during this meeting; the matter remained in the public-comment and work-session record for future consideration.
Claims and context: Kazatz disputed a prior assertion by the police chief linking the statewide eviction moratorium with increased crime; she framed the evidence as showing that economic and housing instability increase risks of violence. The Wilder Research evaluation (2021) was cited by Kazatz as local research identifying economic insecurity and disconnection as risk factors for violence. The council and police did not respond with new evidence during this meeting.
Next steps: Kazatz asked officials to continue discussion and consider formal protections such as a temporary moratorium. City staff did not announce a council vote or immediate policy change on this item during the meeting.
