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File #: RES 26-121    Version:
Type: Resolution Status: Passed
In control: City Council
Final action: 1/21/2026
Title: Calling on Governor Walz to pass an eviction moratorium through Executive Order to support Saint Paul in keeping families in their homes, and further protect them from ICE.
Sponsors: HwaJeong Kim, Rebecca Noecker, Nelsie Yang, Molly Coleman, Anika Bowie, Saura Jost, Cheniqua Johnson
Attachments: 1. Res 26-121 public comments
Title
Calling on Governor Walz to pass an eviction moratorium through Executive Order to support Saint Paul in keeping families in their homes, and further protect them from ICE.
Body
WHEREAS, the federal government’s campaign of indiscriminate mass deportation has inflicted terror nationwide; and the Trump administration’s fixation on Minnesota has cruelly targeted our community with harassment, intimidation, and violence; and

WHEREAS, the Twin Cities metro is experiencing the largest operation by the Department of Homeland Security in the nation’s history, with as many as 2,000 agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and other federal agencies deployed to Minnesota on January 6th, 2026, and an estimated 1,000 more agents to be deployed in the coming weeks; and

WHEREAS, the public has experienced and documented hundreds of instances of federal agents targeting and harassing residents and business owners based on the color of their skin, regardless of immigration status; and

WHEREAS, federal agents have been escalating violence against legal observers and community members protecting their neighbors, including Renee Nicole Good, who was murdered by an ICE agent on January 7, 2026;

WHEREAS, these threatening and violent attacks on our residents and business owners have occurred in public spaces including schools, streets, hospitals, sidewalks, grocery stores, places of worship, and bus stops. As a result, many residents and business operators are unable to move freely due to threat of harassment, violence, and abduction; forcing them to shelter-in place or temporarily or permanently close operations and impacting their ability to work and provide for their families; and

WHEREAS, in addition to the threat of violence and abduction, many families and small businesses are grappling with the fear of eviction due to an inability to safely go to work or maintain their operat...

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Date NameDistrictOpinionCommentAction
1/23/2026 8:01 PMSterling For Residents of St Paul are in desperate need of protection from the lawless and violent presence of unidentified federal agents polluting the city. I urge the City Council to call on Government Walz to p*** an eviction moratorium to keep our most vulnerable communities safe.
1/22/2026 12:15 AMOlivia For The sheer amount of mutual aid, donations, and outreach that our community has had to organize in response to the federal occupation of our cities should be proof enough that a rent moratorium is needed. We are doing our best to take care of each other, but the governor and the government has an obligation to do so as well in any way they can. I urge Governor Walz to p*** an eviction moratorium as soon as humanly possible - failing to do so would only add to the number of families who have been displaced and disrupted as a result of this violent occupation.
1/21/2026 11:07 PMKatie C For The state of Minnesota needs to take care of it's residents by p***ing this moratorium. It is unconscionable for people to fear losing their housing while under ICE occupation, especially during such a brutal winter. We need to protect our most vulnerable communities, it is the only moral choice. +2
1/21/2026 10:12 PMAmber Westley  For No eviction under ice occupation. We need to evict ice and support our communities. We must p*** a moratorium. +3
1/21/2026 10:06 PMJordan For The abduction of our neighbors and violent, illegal action by the occupation of ICE is unconscionable and we must evict them for the soul of our state. +2 1
1/21/2026 9:46 PMChase   We need to approve this memorandum to protect our neighbors from repercussions at work due to their inability to leave their homes while ICE is terrorizing our streets. Getting our neighbors these protections in trying times is absolutely vital. +3
1/21/2026 9:00 PMLaura Millberg  For I encourage the City Council to support the resolution asking Governor Walz to make an executive order for a moratorium on evictions during the ICE surge and for a reasonable time period afterwards to allow people time to return to work. I have heard numerous instances through my own and others congregations and schools that there is a great and increasing need for this relief. +5
1/21/2026 8:18 PMBridget Adams For Please support the eviction moratorium. Minnesota residents should not have to fear losing their housing while fearing abduction by federal agents. +5
1/21/2026 8:08 PM  For Don't evict during ICE occupation. +2
1/21/2026 6:37 PMIan Rosenthal For Hello City Council, My name is Ian Rosenthal and I’m here to lend Jewish Community Action’s voice to the chorus of advocates demanding an eviction moratorium. The Jewish principle of Pikuach Nefesh tells us that the preservation of life supersedes almost all other rules. The racist invasion of federal forces to the Twin Cities is endangering all of us, and the daily violence our immigrant neighbors and loved ones are experiencing is a civic crisis of the highest order. We know that lives are at stake, because we have already lost so many. There is no justice in eviction under occupation. There is no justice in eviction at all. For this reason, we are calling on St Paul city council to unanimously p*** the resolution today. And to Governor Walz we say: do your part. Declare a state of emergency and use your executive power to p*** a statewide eviction moratorium immediately. +3
1/21/2026 6:35 PMJuan Luis Rivera-Ryes For The Equity in Place Coalition is writing in support of the proposed Eviction Moratorium Resolution RES 26-121 for the City of St. Paul. As a coalition, we pride ourselves on being a diverse group of strategic partners from organizations led by people of color and housing advocacy organizations. We believe that everyone in Minnesota deserves to live where they want to live and have access to opportunity. We are seeing the impacts of this siege directly on our communities, affecting our fellow Minnesotans' abilities to live and thrive. We are 11 days away from the end of the month and the beginning of the next, which means we are a little more than 2 weeks away from folks not being able to pay for their rent, pay for their bills, and ensure they can continue to shelter in place. It is more urgent than ever that our local leaders in our cities, counties, and state government act. We need an Eviction moratorium now. Thank you Equity in Place Coalition +2
1/21/2026 5:41 PMHayley K.  For We must p*** an eviction moratorium through Executive Order to support Saint Paul in keeping families in their homes, and further protect them from ICE. The Saint Paul City Council must do everything in their power to stand up for the community that has ALREADY stepped up to protect and care for itself. HELP US PROTECT US! +1
1/21/2026 5:30 PMAdam Wohlwend For Please support the eviction moratorium. We need to support our people during this unwarranted federal overreach. +2
1/21/2026 5:23 PMCarmen Castello For As a concerned resident of St Paul, I want to echo all the other comments in support of the eviction moratorium. This, in addition to agenda # 20, protects our neighbors and our community in one of the most traumatic and dangerous times for immigrants in Minnesota. We know immigrants make our country and city strong, so the government should do everything in its power to protect them, including keeping folks in their homes and keeping federal ICE agents out of the city. +1
1/21/2026 5:13 PMMary Lanham For Every Minnesotan has the right to safe and dignified housing, and in the middle of a Midwest winter, shelter is even more a matter of life and death. When so many are losing access to income and stability due to the unlawful actions of ICE agents, the only right thing is to protect our neighbors. We're counting on the Council and Governor Walz to help us do that by pausing evictions. +1
1/21/2026 5:06 PMVivi Stroh   Please support a moratorium on rent and electric payments for Minnesotans. We are under siege and occupation by the Federal Government and that is causing our neighbors to go into hiding and miss work. Please support our Minnesotan neighbors by providing this relief while folks are unable to work. +1
1/21/2026 4:59 PMKelsey Knothe For I am asking the City Council to p*** an eviction moratorium immediately. With winter conditions and widespread financial instability, allowing evictions at this time would be dangerous and inhumane. Many residents are missing work and income and should not be forced into housing insecurity as a result. Please take decisive action to keep our neighbors housed and safe. +2
1/21/2026 4:49 PMLeo Vader For The moment we all feared is here. We need to do absolutely everything in our power to protect our people from this invasion. We must stand with our neighbors now, completely, or we never will. +3
1/21/2026 4:36 PMSydney Roberts  For Council Members: We urge you - please p*** an eviction moratorium to protect our neighbors, friends and family. Please are struggling right now, especially our Black and Brown immigrant community members who are living in fear because of the federal government and cannot leave their homes to go to work. Please do what's right and support our neighbors! +2
1/21/2026 4:15 PMColleen Sylvester For I live in the Merriam Park neighborhood, and urge you to p*** the eviction moratorium and do everything possible to keep our neighbors safe and housed. It is a brutally cold winter right now, and leaving our most vulnerable neighbors susceptible to eviction would be inhumane and needlessly cruel. +1
1/21/2026 4:06 PMVivia johnson  For I and many of my neighbors are struggling with federal invasion. The economy was in a downturn already and now many people can not go to work or face state violence at the hands of federalized thugs. Ensuring people have a safe place to live during these times is tantamount to liberty itself. Please pressure the governor and also p*** a moratorium locally for the city of Saint Paul. +1
1/21/2026 4:00 PMRebecca Homard For Governor Walz, Council President, and Council Members: I write from Dayton's Bluff, one of the many under-resourced neighborhoods in our beautiful St Paul. This neighborhood, like many others, is also wonderfully diverse, and therefore targeted HEAVILY by ICE during their operations. Many folks in St Paul are living paycheck-to-paycheck and because they can't go to work from fear of being detained, are missing those paychecks and are at high risk of eviction. It is crucial that they are able to stay home and stay safe during this surge, especially given how dangerous MN winter can be. We urge you - please p*** an eviction moratorium to protect our neighbors, family, and friends. +3
1/21/2026 3:59 PMRachel Kenrick-Schwartz For Minnesota drew me here because of a strong sense of community, something that reminded me of the East Coast. I came here for an education opportunity and what I have seen has amazed me. People willing to risk being detained to protect their neighbors, m***ive protests, and quiet behind-the-scenes support of immigrant businesses, mutual aid, and our schools. Even the schools have seen the emergency and have shut down, making it even more difficult for parents to work. It is now time for the government to step in. The people of St. Paul have been out in the streets doing the work, but it's not enough. Neighbors are scared to go to school, to go to work, to shovel their walks. When there are currently so many things to fear, the fear of losing your housing should not be one of them. Please, call for an eviction moratorium and help keep our neighbors safe and housed during these horrific times. +2
1/21/2026 3:45 PMjo hjelle For the choice of an eviction moratorium is whether or not to send our most vulnerable neighbors out into the streets in minnesota winter in the midst of a violent federal occupation of our metro area and beyond. if the job of a government isn’t to protect our neighbors, then what is it? the only moral option is to p*** this resolution and do ALL within your power to protect our most vulnerable neighbors. +1
1/21/2026 3:35 PMMary Willms Wohlwend For I emphatically support this resolution. Our neighbors are being targeted and unable to work/leave home. We must allow them this small bit of relief from the threat of eviction. Thank you to the council for all that you are doing. +1
1/21/2026 3:04 PMRachel Haakana For Minnesotans are terrified to go to work. If they can't go to work, they can't pay rent. We cannot expect community members, neighbors, and friends to support such a m***ive financial expense as rent for thousands of people. This is the time to show that our government and state care about its citizens. People deserve dignified housing. We are proud we are a diverse city with a make up of many cultures. We must defend our vulnerable community members from this federal invasion. Please don't choose landlords and the ruling cl*** over the working cl***. Now is the time to show the world what we stand for in Saint Paul. +2
1/21/2026 2:55 PMBrianna Olson-Carr  For There has never been a better time for an eviction moratorium. There has never been a better time to come together as Minnesotans and say we stand together against forces trying to tear our communities apart and we will provide the space for that in the form of rental ***istance. The world is once again looking to see what the twin cities are going to do because we are extraordinary. We have created an incredible network of mutual aid and Community organizing. Now it's time for you to decide. Will you step up again as government officials and stand up with your brave citizens? Stand with us and provide a rent mortitorium so vulnerable families can stay safe through this difficult time in American history. There has never been a better time to stand together. +2
1/21/2026 2:54 PMMollie Lacy For I have friends and neighbors who are legal immigrants afraid for their safety when leaving their homes. Many people have not been able to work with ICE causing violence and chaos in our streets. They need help now. No one should be evicted over this. +3
1/21/2026 2:44 PMAlexis Neeley For Our community deserves - now and ALWAYS - safe and dignified housing. If we claim to be proud and supportive of our vibrant and diverse state, we MUST protect those who are most vulnerable. They cannot safely get to work, school, the grocery store, the laundromat, and they certainly should not be penalized for the brutal and unlawful conditions making their day to day lives impossible. Governor Walz must p*** an eviction moratorium through executive order to keep our neighbors safe. +2
1/20/2026 9:52 PMAlana Hawley For Our last state of emergency was over Covid. Pandemics and federal deployments are cir***stances out of our control, but the ability to distinguish an emergency and take necessary action to prevent damage to human life during that emergency is the only ability that warrants the election to public office. For context on the scale of this problem; Minneapolis currently owes 50 million for three months of rental ***istance from August 2025. That’s the amount of money our twin owes for rent help in NORMAL cir***stances. We don’t have the numbers for Metro Surge yet, but it’s clear: NO AMOUNT OF MUTUAL AID WILL COVER RENT. Great people have donated hundreds of thousands to keep their neighbors fed, and we’re still talking about a need that is MULTIPLE orders of magnitude greater than what individuals can cover. This is where the government steps in. If landlords are harmed financially in this moment, they should be looking at the federal government to end the cir***stances harming them. +3