Minneapolis, MN – At a packed November 14 press conference outside the Minneapolis Public Service Building, community advocates and three Minneapolis City Council members joined the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) in calling for the city’s upcoming police contract to finally include real penalties for officers who collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or violate the city’s separation ordinance.

The press conference was called to continue to advance MIRAC’s current “Real Sanctuary Now” campaign, in which the group has been demanding a stronger separation ordinance in Minneapolis, which would prohibit local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration agents in any manner.

MIRAC member Myrka Zambrano, who opened the event, stated, “We need the new MPD contract to include real, enforceable consequences for any officer who collaborates with ICE or violates our separation ordinance. This is not a complicated request; it is a necessary one.”

Much of the press conference centered on the June 3 militarized federal raid in South Minneapolis, where residents reported that Minneapolis police officers stood alongside federal agents during the operation.

“What happened on June 3rd showed us the cost of having no accountability,” Zambrano said. “A militarized federal force stormed our community and MPD officers stood with the agents instead of with the residents they are sworn to protect.”

For MIRAC, the lesson is straightforward: without consequences written directly into the contract, these violations will continue.

Three city council members—Robin Wonsley (Ward 2), Jason Chavez (Ward 9), and Council President Elliott Payne (Ward 1)—spoke at the event, each emphasizing that meaningful accountability must be embedded directly into the police federation contract.

Council Member Robin Wonsley criticized the city’s long-standing failure to enforce its own separation ordinance, which has remained essentially untouched for two decades.

“I stand with our immigrant neighbors who are demanding that we update a 20-year-old separation ordinance meant to protect our most vulnerable residents,” she said.

Wonsley continued, “Mayor Frey can codify these consequences today. I asked him and the chief to do so in January, and they declined. If we can spend $20 million on a police contract, we can demand accountability in that contract.”

Council President Elliott Payne said, “We are not in a time of technocratic details — we are under assault by an authoritarian regime that has set aside due process to terrorize our community.”

Payne continued, “We need to use all the authority we have at the local level to stand up to a federal administration that doesn’t see the humanity in every one of our residents.”

Council Member Jason Chavez, a co-author of the proposed updated separation ordinance, made clear that contract language—not just policy—is essential. “I’m the proud son of Mexican immigrants, and I stand with our immigrant community asking for a strong police union contract,” said Chavez. “We need language in the contract that codifies violations of the separation ordinance. That is a line I will hold.”

Longtime organizer Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB), reminded attendees that public access to police contract negotiations exists only because her organization sued the city 25 years ago.

“For 25 years, we have worked to change the police federation contract,” Gross said. “The only reason the public can attend contract negotiations is because we sued the city to make those meetings accessible.”

Gross criticized the city for giving police a 21.7% raise in the last contract without pairing it with stronger disciplinary standards, stating, “That was shameful.” Gross added, “Legal research shows local law enforcement can arrest ICE agents if they violate the law — and we are demanding that this be included in policy and in the contract.”

With negotiations for the new MPD contract underway, the press conference made the community’s expectations unmistakable. Advocates, residents and council members all called for binding, enforceable consequences for officers who collaborate with ICE or violate sanctuary protections.

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