Mankato residents describe pepper‑spray incidents and urge council action; city staff asked to research policy options

Scores of residents pressed the Mankato City Council on Jan. 12 over recent federal immigration-enforcement activity reported in the city, and the council voted to ask staff to review community recommendations and comparable actions by other cities.

At a public forum extended to 30 minutes, speakers offered firsthand accounts and demanded clearer limits on cooperation between local public safety and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "ICE is a paramilitary group that is not loyal to The United States Constitution," Jamil Huck said, urging local officials to take a public stand. Multiple other residents said they or people they know had been pepper‑sprayed during recent ICE operations.

Residents and organizers offered a slate of policy requests including a public statement opposing ICE activity in Mankato, an ordinance or resolution preventing ICE from using city property for staging, and a change to handbook language some said could be read as permitting local cooperation. David Mesta, lead organizer for COBOL Minnesota in the South Central Region, asked the council for a resolution and transparency measures, and called for revisions to the city handbook to explicitly prohibit ICE from using city facilities.

City staff responded that the Mankato Department of Public Safety has not collaborated with ICE. "To this date, we have not collaborated, worked with ICE in any way, shape or form," Director Clifton told the council when asked directly whether the department partners with ICE. He said the department's policy focuses on criminal, not administrative, matters and noted that the public-safety handbook adopted a policy in 2014 that limits local action on administrative immigration enforcement.

Council members pressed staff on operational questions such as whether federal agents could use city property without a permit and on the process for residents to report suspected incidents. City staff said ICE or other federal agencies would need a special-event or similar permit to use public property for staging and that, on safety grounds, such a permit would likely be denied. Staff said they would attempt to trespass unauthorized federal staging from city property and could seek enforcement in Blue Earth County district court if necessary.

On the question of resident reports and investigations, Director Clifton advised residents to call 911 to verify credentials and request a police response; he said Mankato Public Safety will collect information and forward evidence to prosecutors when appropriate, but that local officers do not have authority to remove federal agents. "I do not have authority over any federal government agency, including ICE," Clifton said.

After extended discussion, a council member moved, and the council approved by roll call, a request that staff review the community's recommendations and other cities' best practices, analyze legal feasibility and statutory constraints, and bring a report back to the council. The roll call recorded affirmative votes from Deacon, McLaughlin, Melby Kelly, Hatampa, Mettler, Lavin and Mayor Messaad.

City staff also said they will review specific incidents raised during public comment — including a pepper‑spray incident — to determine whether they warrant investigation or referral to the county attorney. The council did not adopt an ordinance or formal prohibition during the meeting; staff said any change to policies would require legal review and follow-up council action.

The meeting included other routine business (a citizen lifesaving award, consent calendar approval and a scheduled public improvement hearing), but discussion and public comment on reported ICE activity dominated the evening and prompted the staff review motion. The council and staff said they would return with findings and options at a future meeting.