Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Immigration Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents urge St. Peter council to back families amid local ICE activity
Summary
Residents described aggressive immigration enforcement in St. Peter, reported business losses and fear among families, and urged the council to publicize resources, back legal aid partnerships and consider a declarative statement. The council and staff emphasized existing procedures and pledged clearer public communications.
Several residents told the St. Peter City Council on Jan. 26 that recent immigration-enforcement activity has left local families fearful and in need of help.
At the start of the public-comment period, Ellen Conover of Windsor Lane described reports from Somali community members that included two Gustavus students stopped while driving to class, an incident in which an agent “aggressively pounded on the car window demanding proof of her citizenship,” and a local halal store owner who has had to lock her business and leave it unattended during ICE activity. Conover read notes from others and urged the council to consider measures including legal-aid partnerships, utility- and rent-assistance programs for affected households, and loans or other help for businesses that have lost income.
Student speaker Da Gonzalez, who identified herself as 18 and a St. Peter High School student, described the emotional toll on families and asked council members to “please help put an end to ICE in our city,” saying the presence of federal agents has changed the community’s sense of safety.
Resident Andy Kakkum described recurring visits by agents to a local trailer park and said some families have moved to safe houses outside the city. Kakkum urged the council to issue a declarative public statement and, if it does, to pair words with information about what resources the city can provide to affected families.
Mayor Noel acknowledged the grief in the community following recent statewide deaths linked to enforcement encounters and highlighted a recent standing-room workshop in which council, the city administrator and the police chief discussed procedures for local response. The mayor and staff emphasized that St. Peter’s dispatch runs 24 hours a day and that residents “need not fear calling 911 in St. Peter” if they are involved in or witness enforcement activity.
City Administrator Todd told the council the city is compiling data and outreach plans, and that staff will prioritize communicating available resources first to most-impacted communities and then to the general public. Council members urged staff to develop a clear, shareable list of steps residents can take, and to coordinate messaging for constitutional observers and other groups so people know when and how to contact law enforcement safely.
The council did not adopt a new ordinance or policy at the meeting. Several members said they will continue to review options discussed at the workshop and follow up on outreach and resource coordination.
The council is tracking related items in the meeting packet and said it will continue to update the public as that work and interagency coordination proceed.
