Calling on St Louis Park city council for a separation ordinance

The public safety case for separation ordinances is straightforward and supported by the evidence.

When immigrant communities fear interacting with government agencies, they are less likely to report crime, serve as witnesses, or appear in court. This creates additional barriers for our police and other emergency services, makes solving crimes harder for law enforcement, and makes all residents less safe.

When residents fear that reporting a crime, seeking medical attention, or interacting with municipal services could lead to detention or deportation of themselves or a family member, a ripple effect is created that impacts every aspect of our community.

While the St. Louis Park Police claims to have consistently followed their internal policies with regard to federal immigration enforcement, we as community members are forced to take them at their word.

If the St. Louis Park police were to violate their internal policies regarding federal immigration enforcement, we as residents do not have any legal avenues to ensure that this is the case. To put it simply, this is not the kind of relationship with our police that the community wants or deserves.

Our goals

• Ensure local police remain focused on local public safety within their jurisdiction, not federal deportation efforts. Prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with or employing crowd control in coordination with federal immigration enforcement, and prevent deputizing of our officers as immigration agents in the future.
• Ensure city workers know what to do if approached by federal agents. Establish clear protocols for city employees and contractors when interacting with federal immigration enforcement, creating clarity for employees & mechanisms for community members to report concerns.
• Create legal limits on federal agents from using our public spaces to conduct operations that terrorize our community. Prohibiting the use of city-owned property as staging area will ensure parks, schools, and public buildings are safe spaces for all.

Our neighbors are still afraid to go to work. Children are still afraid to go to school. Parents are still afraid to leave their homes. This is not the St. Louis Park we know, it is not the St. Louis Park we want, and it is not the St. Louis Park we deserve.