Intensified activity and detentions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota have brought financial challenges for Minneapolis renters and business owners.
Local officials say businesses are seeing reduced traffic, with some closing their doors. Tenant advocates report households are experiencing a loss of income, as family members are deported or are afraid to leave their homes.
Minneapolis businesses are losing millions of dollars in sales every week, reported The Star Tribune.
HOME Line, a statewide nonprofit law firm that provides free and confidential rental advice, has tracked 2,463 eviction filings so far this year, Eric Hauge, co-executive director of the organization, said.
It is unclear exactly how many eviction filings are related to ICE activity. But as calls continue to come in from residents reporting financial impacts tied to ICE enforcement, Hauge expects filings to keep climbing.
Hauge said Minnesota officials need to take action.
The Minneapolis City Council voted on Feb. 5 to allocate $1 million in one-time rental assistance to residents facing eviction. The Minneapolis City Council’s allocation comes after both the Minneapolis and St. Paul city councils unanimously passed eviction moratorium proposals in mid-January.
A typical eviction moratorium stops eviction filings and court-ordered removals. The moratorium requires the signature of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. A moratorium was enacted during COVID-19, but Walz has not signed the one put forward in January.
Minneapolis City Council member Robin Wonsley (Ward 2), the lead author of the resolution to provide $1 million in rent relief, said in an emailed statement that Minneapolis renters cannot wait for assistance.
St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker said she has been hearing from residents and small-business owners who fear they will not make rent.
“We really feel like we need help from all levels of government right now,” Noecker said. “Everybody needs to do their part.”
Mutual aid and community organizing aimed at providing rent relief have sprung up across the Twin Cities, but they cannot take the place of government, Hauge said.
Greater Twin Cities United Way’s 211 helpline, which connects people to housing assistance, received 6,000 calls in one week, a 140% increase, CBS News reported.
An eviction moratorium does not cancel tenants’ legal obligation to pay rent or utilities, which is why advocates are calling for both enactment of a moratorium and low-barrier, fast-moving emergency government-provided rental assistance, Hauge said.
“What the moratorium does is just buy people time because we’re in the midst of a crisis,” Hauge said. “What we’re hearing from our clients is that they only feel safe in their homes.”
He said some clients have told HOME Line staff that they have not left their apartments in two months and are unable to attend medical appointments, take their children to school or go to work.
“We have people that are pregnant, that are concerned about going to the doctor, people with dental issues that won’t go to the dentist,” Hauge said.
Some renters say landlords have threatened to call ICE if they request repairs, Hauge said. Others want to break their leases and leave the country, but are unable to do so. Clients fear detention if they go to Hennepin County courthouses to take action against landlords.
Clients are left without a paycheck as businesses close, or they are unable to go into work due to fear, Hauge said.
While an eviction moratorium remains a primary focus for HOME Line, the organization is also sending letters to the Hennepin County District Court requesting delays of initial eviction hearings and asking that hearings be held remotely.
The state legislature can also step in and extend the 14-day notice landlords are required to give before filing a nonpayment eviction, Hauge said. Minneapolis, along with a few neighboring suburbs, requires 30 days’ notice — and the legislature could extend that requirement statewide.
The St. Paul City Council is in close contact with legislators in St. Paul’s delegation, Noecker said. They are largely on the same page, but challenges remain in reaching lawmakers representing greater Minnesota.
The Minneapolis City Council has brought forward an ordinance to extend Minneapolis’ notice period to 60 days, Wonsley said in an emailed statement.
Meanwhile, evictions are being filed every day, Hauge said.
“There is such a perception of fear in the community,” he said. “I think that can change if there is a dedicated effort by cities and the state to put together an emergency rent fund.”
