For nearly three hours, members of the Columbia Heights community packed Murzyn Hall for a community listening session with city officials, including the City Council, Police Chief Matt Markham, City Manager Aaron Chirpich and Fire Chief Dan O’Brien.
Throughout the meeting, residents described an inadequate response from the Columbia Heights Police Department to their concerns over heightened federal immigration enforcement in the city. Speakers repeatedly criticized what they viewed as city inaction in what they said was federal law enforcement overreach.
Residents raised concerns including allegations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducting illegal traffic stops, entering businesses without warrants and other actions they said violates the U.S. Constitution.
Council Member Connie Buesgens said there was no clear playbook.
“We haven’t been in this situation, and we’re working things out as we go along,” Buesgens said. “We’re all wanting to do more, but there’s a tightrope we’re walking.”
Buesgens reiterated an earlier comment from Markham that city leaders did not want the Insurrection Act imposed on Columbia Heights. She encouraged residents to remain engaged in their community.
“Be brave. Be bold. And do,” Buesgens said. “Living your lives the way you want to live them is also a form of resistance.”
City Manager Aaron Chirpich said city officials were “building the plane as they fly it” and that answers coming from higher levels of government had been “just as disappointing” as the concerns raised during the meeting.
Chirpich said he was struck by the way residents were showing up for one another and thanked city staff and police for serving as liaisons between the community and city leadership.
Council Member Rachel James said the situation had affected people close to her personally.
“I’ve been traumatized. My children have been traumatized,” James said. “But that’s nothing compared to getting a text from a kid in my church saying ICE is blocking their driveway and that I need to get there fast.”
James said responding to such circumstances was not what city officials expected when they were elected, but emphasized that they remained committed to supporting residents and encouraged people to call city offices when they needed help.
“We have been targeted to the point of 100 different ICE agents in a single day,” James said.
Council Member Justice Spriggs said colleagues in the medical field had worked with Alex Pretti and knew him personally, describing the loss as significant.
“Health care workers want to help people,” Spriggs said, “and being denied that in both of these shootings is heartbreaking.”
Council Member Laurel Deneen said listening to the testimony had taken an emotional toll.
“My heart is racing as I hear everyone’s stories,” Deneen said. “It is incredibly hard to watch your community be attacked.”
Chirpich said Columbia Heights was among the first cities to issue a public statement roughly a year ago outlining resources for residents, a statement that has recently been amplified on the city’s website along with the council’s position.
Columbia Heights is also part of a coalition of roughly 13 cities working toward unified messaging and coordinated legislative efforts at the state and federal level.
“We’re looking at hiring a PR consulting firm with attorneys and lobbyists,” Chirpich said, “to really start picking up steam on a collaborative effort.”
Chirpich said someone from the coalition is expected to testify before a Senate committee, and that an amicus brief is being drafted for the state attorney general related to alleged constitutional violations.
He said the council has discussed ordinances aimed at keeping federal immigration enforcement out of public spaces such as parks, but described the proposals as a risk-versus-reward calculation given enforcement limitations.