ICE agents across the greater metro area provide an unprecedented challenge for the St. Paul local government. As a new council member, Molly Coleman, joined the council this fall and a new St. Paul Mayor, Kaholy Her, was sworn in on Jan. 2, they were greeted with conflicts with ICE in their communities.

“When I was sworn into office one month ago, I pledged that St. Paul would set clear rules for federal immigration enforcement. No one could have predicted that less than a week later, Operation Metro Surge would begin and masked agents would flood our city, using violence and intimidation against our residents,” Her said in a statement released on Feb. 5.

ICE agents have been using city-owned property to launch operations and mask their identities. On Feb. 5, an ordinance was passed by the city council prohibiting law enforcement from staging activity on city-owned property and codified the city’s Dec. 19, 2025 cease-and-desist letter.

The immediate influx in ICE activity shifted the council’s focus and the original goals they had promised during their campaigns.

“[Her] is almost completely unable, not because of her skill set, unable to address what she wants to do or what she ran on because she has to react to ICE and the federal government coming in so to a large extent,” Political Science Professor David Schultz said.

However, as they work to react to ICE, the city of St. Paul runs into limitations on the extent of their power as local government.

“We can say loudly and often that ICE isn’t welcome here, but we can’t physically keep them out,” Coleman said.

St. Paul has a separation ordinance in place and the St. Paul Police Department (SPPD) clarified they do not have the authority to arrest or detain people solely for immigration status and will always have clear SPPD markings. The city council has faced concern about the SPPD’s involvement with federal agents.

“They do not wear masks to conceal their identity. This means if you see a SPPD officer or our markings (i.e., squad, vest, jacket) in the community, it is not an immigration detail,” SPPD Public Information Officer Nikki Muehlhausen said via email.

While the SPPD will not assist in immigration enforcement, constituents have raised questions on the SPPD protecting residents against illegal federal agent behavior.

“People are feeling that there are federal agents who are behaving illegally in our community who are doing everything from breaking speed limits to detaining people without adequate judicial oversight … people are calling on the St. Paul Police Department to stop that illegal behavior and to stand on the side of our residents,” Coleman said.

St. Paul has a separation ordinance in place that establishes the police are not responsible for enforcing immigration laws; however, they also walk a fine line of not interfering.

“So does St. Paul have to cooperate with the federal authorities? The answer is no. Can they actively obstruct? The answer is no they cannot do that also,” Schultz said.

The municipal government has struggled with obtaining information about the presence of federal agents in its wards. Federal agents do not have to formally notify the local government of their presence or the actions they will be taking.

“We are finding out in the same way that everyone else is. We are getting a signal message, we are getting a text from a neighbor or a phone call from somebody who has spotted ICE and is concerned they may be about to launch an attack,” Coleman said.

Local governments are fighting an uneven battle against the federal government; more ICE agents are in Minnesota than the 10 metro police departments combined.

“They’re trying to do whatever they are trying to do in a situation in which they are vastly outgunned in terms of the resources that are compared to the federal government,” Schultz said.

When community members are detained by ICE, council members have found themselves unable to find any information about them. Lack of communication has created significant barriers to protecting their constituents.

“The difficulty of obtaining information in this environment cannot be overstated. Something that I think everyone is struggling with is the secrecy in which everyone is operating that directly impedes our ability to take care of our residents and the people of St. Paul,” Coleman said. “It is quite horrifying.”

What the council has been doing is maintaining contact with their constituents and prioritizing having two-way communication: providing resources while also listening to the needs of the community. Increased ICE presence has heightened tensions, with many fearing to leave their homes. However, not all community members can take the same approach to deal with these unknown times.

“There is not a one size fits all approach when it comes to small businesses, but rather that we need to be really intentional and be in conversation with people who are most impacted and determine how best to support them in that way,” Coleman said.

The council recognized the income struggle many are experiencing and passed a resolution calling on the Minnesota Governor to enact an eviction moratorium. On a municipal level, they are unable to take official steps to stop evictions in St. Paul.

“Many people are losing significant amounts of income right now, we just had rent due, we are going to have rent due again in three and a half weeks. This is not something that can wait, so that is the top priority,” Coleman said.

The limitations the local government has encountered has not hindered their determination. They keep asking more questions on how they can get creative to still help their community.

“How do we get creative about municipal powers? How do we think differently about what cities can do in a crisis moment like this? How do we use our power to the fullest extent possible while also recognizing that us passing an unenforceable eviction moratorium doesn’t actually help anybody?” Coleman said.

The mayor’s office had not responded to a request for comment at the time of this publication.