He knows who cover themselves in blankets to drive to work or who are afraid to leave home during the ICE occupation. And my heart is with those neighbors. My heart is also with many, many friends. My heart is with a friend of mine who's a US citizen from Africa.
He is a black man with an accent and he drives the back roads to and from work now carrying his papers with him because he's afraid of being pulled over and unlawfully detained. My heart is with a friend of mine who's a legal permanent resident for the last 30 years, a local
mom married to a US citizen, and who has renewed her green card every 10 years, and who's been told that their renewal this year, for some reason, is delayed. My friends and neighbors are afraid because of what we and our kids all see
with our own eyes. They see the federal government promoting a hotline so that people can call ICE on their neighbors. They have seen people ripped from home, car, and workplace. not because of what their papers say, but because of how they look. They have seen federal officials describe the Twin Cities the
way a military describes an enemy. They see a president and his supporters calling them garbage because of where they were born. Muslims and immigrants see the derogatory ways that they are talked about on local social media pages. They see that a portion of the
population likes what ICE has been doing and the way they have been doing it. Now, Chief Hajes told you on February 9th that ICE has been using tactics banned now for decades by local law enforcement, but we have also seen police unions around the country
publicly state their support of ICE and those tactics. Now, people trust who they know. I personally have friends who are Bloomington police officers. They're awesome. I trust them with my life because I know them. And while Chief
Hajes has repeatedly stated that BPD does not do immigration enforcement, if we're going to build or rebuild trust, we first have to recognize that the trust deficit persists because no group of people is a monolith. People in our
community have been terrorized by ICE. And when just some of our public servants support those horrible tactics, that leads the people. Those tactics were designed to terrify, to distrust our public institutions as a whole. For
trust to be rebuilt genuinely, those who have supported the federal government's tactics and anti-immigrant agenda would have to repent and loudly join the call to genuinely reject those tactics and that anti-immigrant agenda. For people
to stop being afraid in every community across this country, the environment needs to change. And for the environment needs that to change, minds would have to change. But what can you do as a council? Well, first of all, I want to thank you for being a part of the the
coalition of 21 metro cities working together on this and I look forward to all of the good things that I hope will come of that collaboration. But number one, reports show the negative economic impact of this ICE operation in Minnesota in the hundreds of millions. Courts have repeatedly
ruled that ICE misapplied statutes and jailed thousands of people across the country who should not have been. I want ICE I I want the city, excuse me, to determine and publicize the economic cost of this ICE occupation on Bloomington as well as the opportunity
cost and the human cost. We need to know how many human beings were taken from our city. How many legal residents were denied their rights? And we need to support those harmed economically. Number two, please extend pre-eviction notice time and support an eviction moratorum. Number three, we need to ban
DHS from buying detainment warehouses within city limits. Number four, please revisit what we asked you to do already. Not because everything's enforcable, but because what you say and do becomes the value statement of our community. And
residents need to not just hear you say it in a press release, although that is welcome, but to visibly see it in action on our streets. And five, for the sake of public safety and crime prevention for our police and the citizens they serve and protect, we have to
intentionally address public distrust towards our public servants who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution. Recognizing that actions have to match words if trust is to be built, let alone restored. We need public city sponsored expressions of unity towards all of our
immigrant neighbors that celebrate our diverse residents. We need to send clear, consistent value messages with actions that speak loudest to both those in fear and those who want to scare them. And I also ask that the city of Bloomington enact a law enforcement mask
ban because there is no trust or system of checks and balances when we are bullied by secret police. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Paul. Appreciate it. Uh Jamie, >> good evening. >> Good evening. Welcome.
>> My name is Jamie Wagner and here we are again. Uh you may recall from my civics 2011 lecture at your last listening session that we talked about the social contract and of the theories of John Dunn and of John Smith. One of those uh also supported by John
Lock was the social contract. And much as Paul just spoke to, I would like to discuss the social contract in actions and words in the ways it does and has broken down. The words of Chief Hodgeges decrying ICE
tactics were appreciated. His testimony speaking of how it has damaged public trust is appreciated. the continued support by members of the Bloomington Police Department in uniform and using city vehicles to issue
spurious citations to people attempting to alert their neighbors of danger, of moving to come in in support when ICE calls the Bloomington PD and asks for material or personnel backup because people are trying to keep children from being taken off a school bus by an
unlawful occupation force. And the fact that there have been no visible reprimands for members of the Bloomington Police Department who have acted against members of their community says a lot more about what Bloomington is currently allowing and what this
council and you, Mr. Mayor, are endorsing than a press release. If you do not support these tactics, if you do not support children being put in cages, families being broken up, and in
our latest development, people being secretly hustled out of the Whipple building and spread to the wind when congressional oversight and local law enforce their health and safety. We need actions, not just words. And we
need to see that those who have supported these tactics and harassed members of their own community who are trying to protect each other because you have not >> are shown consequences. Whether that is
dismissal from the force, whether that is reduction in rank and pay, whether that is suspension while inquiries are conducted. If we continue to see signs that the police department and other city services will act in support of ICE
without consequences, we no longer trust them, will not use them. I believe Chief Hodge has already testified that calls to 911 for emergency services are down. I know from talking to other residents that they no longer feel like they are
safe if they see a Bloomington PD vehicle in their neighborhood. People will stop trusting the police. They will stop trusting the fire department. They will stop looking for emergency medical care because they will be afraid that if they are to call for
an ambulance because they're having an allergic reaction, if somebody has fallen or even a family member is having a medical emergency, that there may be federal agents waiting to deport them as soon as they get done in triage because we do not know who's writing
along with them or receiving intelligence from the emergency services about where those calls are coming from and who isn't. involved. I am glad you are working with the Metro Council and the Council of 21. I am glad that there have been some
statements by this council and by you, Mr. Mayor, that you do not support these tactics. But people need to see that your actions align with your words. People need to see that the social contract is being repaired.
Or in the words of Mr. block. If the social contract has been irreparably damaged, the first right the people must reclaim for themselves is the right of revolution. Whether that comes at the ballot box or otherwise, there are many actions you can take to
show support for the community against the occupation and against the illegal actions being taken against the people of this city and this state. Yes, the government may push back. Yes, they are bullies who will tend to
respond with force rather than reason. But as I was prepared to say in my previous remarks, what stops a bully is not acquiescence. What stops a bully is not appeasement. What stops a bully is making it clear
that you will not allow them to continue, even if you have to do it with a busted lip and a broken nose. I've personally done that. It wasn't fun, but it worked. And if you're not willing to stand back up when
you get knocked down, get out of the way so somebody else will. >> Thank you very much. And I will urge again, if if you see or if you have evidence of Bloomington police
acting inappropriately, please bring it forward. Please. We would love to hear it. I know Chief Hodgeges would not stand for anything that goes anti to the culture that he's built within the Wilmington Police Department. If you have if you have evidence, please bring
it forward. And for that matter, uh to Jaime's comments, if you have evidence of any other Bloomington Department members, uh city members, city employees doing anything that would be uh in in opposition to what they should be doing,
uh please please let us know about it. Please, we will move on to uh Cody. >> Good evening. >> Good evening. >> Um, thank you for having me here. Um,
There's was obviously the announcement that operation metro surge is winding down. Um I will believe that when I see it. Um from my understanding technically maybe metro surge is winding down but uh the
suburbs are now starting to get that and I don't think we can just look away and say well it's not happening here anymore so it's not our problem. Um I was really hopeful after the last listening session. Um, you guys joined the the
lawsuit that the AG had filed. Um, and it sounded like momentum would keep going after that. And now you guys haven't done anything additional. Um, we don't have anything banning ICE from using city property. We don't have
anything banning ICE from wearing masks. Um the majority of you were sitting up here nodding your heads as we were making those recommendations and then the next week um the city
manager got up and said that he didn't recommend any of it and so you guys chose not to do it. The last I checked the city manager is not the person that gets to make those decisions. It's you all and if there is one, two, three, four, and five with Mr. Loman man and uh
Miss Alesandro. Um that seems like enough to vote on that. So you're either sitting up here nodding your heads to appease us or you agree with us and you're afraid to do anything. We've made it very clear that we will back you all
up. Um so it is disheartening that we still don't have those bans and I will make it abundantly clear. It is not about whether or not it can be enforced. We all understand that the federal government is not going to
follow these if we put them in place. It's about having them in place and documenting the fact that they're not following local law. And it's about showing the members of this community that you're at least going to try whether or not it's going to work.
So, while I appreciate the fact that you listened to us during that listening session, I don't think you heard us. Um, couple weeks ago at the study session, Chief Hodgeges talked about the
Bloomington Police Department not um assisting ICE with immigration enforcement. And I think technically speaking, what he said is true. They do not arrest people who are here illegally
or here on asylum. Um, but they've certainly done things to make it easier on those ICE agents. I have firsthand stories from people who are afraid to speak up of um, you know, getting tickets for honking their horn. um
police officers responding because ICE agents called the police uh while they were being filmed, just filmed, and the police officers showed up and threatened stalking charges for these people um using their first
amendment rights. So yes, I don't think that the Bloomington Police Department is arresting people on immigration related things, but I think the Bloom there are officers in the Bloomington Police Department who want to make it as easy as they can for ICE.
Um, after the extended listening session, um, you all had a chance to kind of respond and speak about your thoughts. One thing that I heard from uh you, Mr.
Rivas, was that the city thrives on law and order and you support ICE arresting dangerous criminals to prevent chaos. And I agree wholeheartedly. I don't want violent criminals on our street. I don't
want chaos on our streets. And chaos was not here until ICE showed up. So, I think we're looking at this from the wrong direction for some people. Um,
so I just want us to be clear that this is not the last time that we are going to have to deal with this administration doing things to hurt our community. Next time, it might not be people who aren't citizens. It sounds like it's
going to be people who have already been naturalized and that they want to denaturalize at this point. Could be the LGBTQ community or it could simply be people who don't agree and speak out against them. And so if we sit here and do nothing, we're we're just going to let that
happen and they will continue. So please just show the community that you want to try even if it's not going to work. >> Thank you. William >> do just get right right up to it.
>> Cody and I might uh disagree on the use of hearing and listening but more makes sense I think. So, >> um, >> can I ask you could you pull the mic right up in your the these mics? >> Right under my grill. >> Yeah, right up in your grill. >> Okay. >> Um, my name is Will Clark. Um, you may
have heard the saying, leadership is a choice, not a position. Uh, we voted you to the positions of council member and mayor. Um, and you're doing the job of the position. Um, but you're holding the weekly meetings discussing noise level
of trains and probably planning the next water park. Um, and honestly, that's what most of us need most of the time when it's business as usual. But as we can all agree, this is far from business as usual. Uh, right now, the community
is asking for more. Uh, this is the third listening session we've had since the murder of Renee Good. And you've heard us ask for direct visible actions in the streets to send a message to the federal agents that this community does not want them here, isn't
hospitable to their escalatory tactics. You've heard us ask for signage restricting federal access to city property. You've heard us ask for ordinances banning uh federal agents from wearing masks. You've heard us ask for guarantees that Bloomington will continue the restriction of information
sharing with feds. You've heard us ask for many other things, but it doesn't feel like you're listening, which is what leaders do. They listen. And if you actually listen to what is being asked for, you can hear a community that's asking for support and
doesn't feel like they're getting what they need. In part, we're seeing in part that's because we're seeing our neighboring communities ask for these same things and their cities starting to implement some or all of them. But not here. here. We're just being heard.
From my perspective, one of the reasons this is so unsettling is that we have three more years of this. If you're not listening to us ask for you to push back now, will you be when we have to change the name of the Mall of America to the Donald J. Trump Mall
of America? Will you be when the elections come in November? Will you be in January of 2029? We've seen that this administration is extremely creative in imagining and implementing ways to support their gra
for power. Bloomington needs leaders that are just as creative in imagining how to combat that. I understand that there's risk in pushing back. There's also risk in keeping our heads down, too. Mayor, a few weeks ago, you said, "I'm not going
to pound my fist on the dis desk and risk taking us from a two to a nine." But do we really think putting some signs up and fighting against mask usage will raise the temperature to a nine? Our neighbors that are scared to leave
their home are already living at a nine and have been for quite some time now. For them, I know that they would prefer to hear the pounding on the desk than to the pounding on their doors. Thank you. >> Thank you.
I'm going to double back to the top of our listening session list here. Tommy A, are you here? No. Tommy Aid to talk about CBD House, which I think might have been interesting. Brandy Lashure. Brandy, are
you here? We have no Brandy. Uh, we do have time. Are there others who did not pre-register who would like to speak? All right. Council, anything to add based on what we Oh, we do have somebody
in back. >> Sorry, I'm a little short. >> Don't apologize. >> Sorry, I'm proud to be short. >> Hello. If you could identify yourself, please. >> Yeah. >> Hi, I'm Trina STO, uh, Bloomington resident. Uh, clearly I didn't plan to
speak tonight. Um, but I did speak at the listening session a couple of weeks ago. And um when I spoke then I talked about the need for funding around groceries and around housing. Um our
neighbors are still stuck at home. Our neighbors are not able to leave their homes to get food for themselves, for their children, for their dogs, for their cats. They're not even letting their dogs and cats outside because they're scared that if they do, they
will be taken. Um the funding issue at this point is dire because we have media out there saying that they're leaving. Metro Surge is over. The immediate physical psychological impact that
people have that makes them fund raise or give dollars to these families drops down, right? Because something new is on the next horizon. They get back to their normal lives and they're able to do that. But these people in their homes
aren't and they're risking eviction. And when they're evicted, what happens next? We have more homeless campments in our city across the cities. And these are kids. These are families that need these funds to be able to just live their
lives. We aren't doing anything radical with these dollars. They are literally going to landlords to pay rent. Um, and I've seen other cities step up in this way. I've seen other foundations and organizations step up in this way. And
we haven't done that yet in Bloomington. And it's desperately needed. Um, >> well, in fact, we have, >> in fact, we have >> with with rental assistance. >> And just this past Monday night, uh, the
Port Authority allocated $400,000 for small business assistance. And I think it was uh back in I can't even recall when uh helped out VEP with I think $200,000 $250,000 or so. >> 250 >> 250 and so we have done those things.
>> Let me talk about that then. Um so those funds are helpful. They will help some people in this situation. There are many people who are afraid to access organizations that have federal funding or that have government tied funding
because as a fundraiser myself, I know that when you have funding like that, you have very high reporting requirements, which means that they have to share a lot of their personal information to get access to those funds. And so, we have very many families who won't even touch any of
that because that is terrifying to them. And so what I'm asking for is if there is any sort of emergency release you have that is not directly tied to an RFP or that is all you know reimbursed dollars after you spend them all those
things to be able to allow some of these grassroot efforts that are happening and working directly with families to have more access to be able to help them. >> And I appreciate that and I appreciate the the concern that some people do have. Uh I also appreciate that there uh
given the the the fraud issues in the state, we have to be very careful how we spend our money and how we allocate and make sure that is it is accounted for dollar for dollar, which is why we work very closely with FEP. They've got a a rock solid reputation. They do outstanding work and have for decades.
Uh and so I I understand what you're saying. I I hope you understand our point of view that we want to make sure that we are we are responsible stewards of these tax dollars to make sure that they are actually getting to the people who do need them. >> Yes, I do think there are ways that other organizations can prove that. I
will never say anything negative about VE or any of the nonprofits that are doing this work is critical and they are doing a really phenomenal job at it. It's just we're in very different circumstances than usual. >> Without question. Without question. All right. Thank you. We are just about at time unless
somebody's got one minute. You get one minute is all you get. I'm sorry. >> And you have to let us know who you are. >> Thank you. My name is Kendra Roman Weinberg. Thank you for signing on to the coalition with the 21 cities. I'd recommend the city work towards banning the sale of any building or property to
DHS. Two warehouse sales were canceled in Minnesota. This can be on a city level. It's also really important to offer virtual court sessions for every type of option. It's more important now than it was during the pandemic, especially working towards virtual court for eviction and eviction moratorum is
really important and expend extending the eviction notice. Thank you so much. >> Well done. You got it in there. Very good. Good job. Thank you. >> You didn't sign. >> Uh yeah. And if anybody who spoke, if you could please make sure you sign in just so we have you officially on the
record here. No. Um, council, anything anything to add? Any questions or clarifications? >> Council member Nelson, >> just in response to the last speaker, thank you for coming up and being super quick, so I'll be super quick. Our staff is already looking at the detention
center and zoning and things like that and doing research on where we're at on it. So, thank you. >> Thank you, council member. All right, council. We have one minute. But we got to get downstairs for our 6:30 council meeting. I'd look for a motion to adjurnn tonight. >> Second.
>> Motion and a second to adjurnn. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> Opposed. We are adjourned. Thank you much all for coming out tonight once again. >> Uh and I'm I'm not going to be surprised when we see you again in a couple of weeks because uh I agree with uh what has been said. This is officially been
announced as over, but uh the mayors that I am talking to across Minnesota, this is not over and we understand that. So, thank you for coming out and thank you for your continued work on this.