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A lengthy City Council meeting focused on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity resulted in about a dozen measures, including supporting police de-escalation, increased police presence, approving up to $10,000 in emergency food assistance, supporting an eviction moratorium at the state level, and more.
What to Do About ICE Update
After an emotional meeting two weeks ago when City Council members lamented not having specific actions they could take in the face of increased ICE activity, Council came back with a number of proactive steps.
Short version: Council unanimously approved about a dozen recommendations and actions, many clarifying existing policy.
Background: The lengthy discussion took about an hour during the Open Council Work Session (OCWS) with plenty of detail from the city attorney and police chief. Much of that was reiterated during the regular meeting. It covered legal boundaries and parameters, what other cities are doing, and what West St. Paul is already doing.
Council actions: After a lot of discussion, Council approved a batch of eight recommendations as well as several other measures:
- Police support: Council passed a resolution reaffirming their support of the West St. Paul Police Department. City Manager Nate Burkett introduced the resolution after praising the department: “You can look at the situation we had in town on Friday as an example of their commitment and dedication to deescalation and to providing an example of the right way to protect the community,” he said. “This is an extraordinarily difficult time for our officers on the street, it’s a tough job anyway, but it’s gotten exponentially harder.”
- Policy, not ordinance: The first recommendation was not to pass new ordinances. The process takes at least 45 days for an ordinance to take effect. It would also have limited practical impact since most things are already policy. “We don’t need a law to take action,” Burkett said.
- Required only: Next, Council narrowed policy to remove any discretion on assisting with civil immigration enforcement and state that the city will only act when required by court order.
- Vendor data: Council Made it explicit that the city will not share data with federal agencies unless required by law. This is already in vendor contracts, but the city will double check.
- City property: Council clarified that federal agencies cannot use nonpublic city property without a court order. While the city can’t prohibit use of public city property, they do have tools if that becomes an issue.
- Communication shift: The city has been using neutral language in communication, but will now shift to a “values-forward” approach. An example would be to describe ICE activities as making the community less safe, something local law enforcement has been saying.
- Increased presence: The city manager had already authorized voluntary overtime for police officers to increase their patrols and monitoring. The Council affirmed that move and it will continue for at least the next week and a half. Police are keeping an eye on key areas and will be able to quickly respond and de-escalate if situations arise.
- Reengage as needed: The city will bring the Council back to reengage as things change. This is normal practice, but the city wants to be explicit about the extra measures they’re willing to take and not be bound by normal meeting times (i.e., they’ll call a special meeting if necessary).
- Legal preauthorization: The final recommendation from the agenda packet gives the city manager authority to preauthorize legal action, whether it’s joining a lawsuit or filing an amicus brief. There hasn’t been a specific opportunity to do that, but with multiple filings from the state and Minneapolis, there could be. The challenge is the time frame is often very narrow. The city manager would act only in agreement with the city attorney and police chief. The most likely scenario would be if multiple cities filed an amicus brief for the state’s current case and there was an opportunity for West St. Paul to sign on.
- Eviction moratorium: Any kind of moratorium on evictions has to come at the state level, so Council unanimously approved having the city manager draft a letter supporting an eviction moratorium with a rental funding mechanism to maintain economic stability. Mayor Dave Napier noted that he did not support an eviction moratorium based on his experience as a landlord (but the mayor doesn’t get a vote).
- Food assistance: Council also authorized the city manager to spend up to $10,000 on emergency food assistance. The city manager will explore the best avenue for this funding, but it will likely go through established partners/nonprofits. ISD 197’s extensive efforts are a likely place for the money to end up.
- Additional changes: The Council didn’t specifically pass resolutions but did generally support other actions the city is taking, which include no routine traffic stops by unmarked vehicles (this one is a general rule, but Sturgeon did say if you blow a stop sign and almost T-bone his unmarked squad car, he’s going to pull you over), adding resources to the city website, and sharing images on social media of what the uniforms of West St. Paul police and other local officials look like so the public can differentiate them from federal agents (something other cities have done).
No action yet: Council did not take action on any type or rental assistance or support for local businesses. Multiple members feared the city couldn’t make a dent in the problem and equitably doling out any assistance could be a challenge. City staff will explore options, though it’s likely something to be tackled at the state level.
License plate cameras: The city’s Flock camera system also came under fire after questions and pushback from residents. The agenda included a memo giving background on Flock, and Police Chief Brian Sturgeon spoke at length during both the OCWS and regular meeting. The short version is the city is not sharing Flock data with federal agencies, including ICE. Sturgeon highlighted how the system helps them catch criminals, though residents still expressed concern about misuse of data and a lack of trust with the vendors involved.
Public response: About 30 people attended the meeting and half a dozen spoke during the ICE discussion when Mayor Napier allowed public comment. All of the speakers favored action to limit ICE impact.
Public safety: An emotional moment came when a member of the public asked if the police can help if ICE agents break the law.
- No answers: “I’m going to be blunt with you—I don’t have answers on a lot of things,” Police Chief Sturgeon said. “They have a different playbook. They have a playbook I’m not trained in, our officers are not trained in. They have a playbook that we disagree with some aspects of it, I’ll be honest with you.” He pointed to resources and urged people to file complaints. He also urged people to call the police and “we will be there.” Sturgeon finished: “I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s a difficult situation and I don’t have answers for a lot of the stuff because I don’t understand it either.” (Watch this clip)
- But call 911: Council Member Wendy Berry asked if residents should call 911 if ICE is at their door. “Yes, absolutely. I was at a town hall meeting with Commissioner Atkins last week and that question came up,” Sturgeon said. “I was pretty blunt. I said, ‘Call 911, we’ll be there.’ We are there to ensure the safety of everybody in the community, and I mean everybody.” (Watch this clip)
- Delicate situation: Burkett jumped in wanting to explain the delicate nature of the situation: “If [our officers] saw a federal agent treating someone roughly, they would want to throw their body in between our community member and that ICE agent,” Burkett said. “They have to make a judgement at that very moment in time about what the safest thing to do, not just for themselves, but for everyone involved. It is a couple of officers potentially trying to take on an army and they have a different playbook, so we have to try to figure out how to deescalate without necessarily physically intervening. … Their heart says throw their body in between, but that’s not always the practical answer.” (Watch this clip)
Details: The city attorney offered an 11-page memo with details on the various recommendations. The city manager’s presentation also has more specifics. It’s also worth watching the OCWS meeting for more context.
424 Butler Townhouses
City Council unanimously approved two items related to the 424 Butler Avenue East townhouse project.
- Zoning: They passed an amendment to the 2040 Comprehensive Plan and a zoning change to down-zone the area from multi-family apartments to smaller townhouses more consistent with the area. This passed the Planning Commission unanimously (one abstention) and one person from the public spoke during the public hearing asking for clarification.
- Plan: They also passed the site plan and plat for 13 town homes. Planning Commission reviewed the project and added several conditions. They approved it unanimously. Three people spoke during the public hearing, expressing concerns about increased traffic and impact on a neighboring property.
Other Items on the Agenda
- Legislative priorities: Council approved legislative priorities for the upcoming session. Priorities include funding for 150 Thompson, extending the sales tax, a sales tax exemption for public housing and public facilities, an alternate method of providing Paid Family Medical Leave, and opioid response.
- License fees: Based on input from citizens, staff discussed potential changes to license fees for stores that sell second-hand goods and some kind of relief for businesses in construction zones. Council was open to lowering fees on second-hand good stores, especially since tracking stolen goods isn’t a major concern these days. Council was not open to construction relief due to a number of challenges with equity and consistency.
- Public hearing: Council approved a new administrative code. The new version does not change how the city currently operates, but documents existing practice, clarifies roles, and increases transparency. No one spoke during the public hearing.
- Proclamation: Council proclaimed February to be Black History Month.
- Rental license hearing: Council continued this conversation about a rental license for 97 Orme Street East to the next meeting since new information came to light that staff needs to investigate.
- Closed session: Council had a closed session for a performance review of the city manager.
Engage
- Watch: City Council and OCWS meetings are archived online.
- Learn more: Guide to West St. Paul City Council.
We again had to hire a contributor to cover the ISD 197 School Board meeting happening on the same night as the Council meeting. We make local news freely available, but it’s not free. Join now to support local news and keep your community informed.
