01-31-2026 SWS - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JANUARY 31, 2026 7 Hills is a welcoming city. A community that fosters respect and safety for all, regardless of immigration status. She understands that message was approved last August and she is grateful that the City made the statement and is providing these resources. With the significant increase in enforcement activities since then, she believes the City should reiterate that message and be bold in proclaiming it frequently and loudly. We need to back this up with meaningful action. She is asking the City Council to take some concrete steps. 1) Adopt a clear separation ordinance that states that the City Staff don't participate in federal immigration law enforcement activities, unless required by law. 2) Prohibit law enforcement from honoring ICE detainers without a judicial warrant. 3) Prohibit city resources from being used to support federal immigration enforcement, unless required by law and bar federal agencies from using city -owned parking lots or spaces as staging areas and post signage that clearly communicates restrictions. 4) Commit to seeking out other ways the City of Arden Hills can support its most vulnerable community members. She urged everyone to be creative and think outside the box. We can use our neighboring communities as an example. She said immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility she rejects the notion that there isn't anything a city can do. We can choose policies that protect public safety while also strengthening trust between residents and local government. Other cities have taken concrete steps and Arden Hills can join them. We can lead with compassion and a commitment to our Minnesota values, that have become very visible and widely admired across the nation and across the world. Rebecca Shrom, Arden Hills — She has nothing new to add. All of her comments have been stated. Jodi Vanderbelt, Arden Hills — She completely agrees with everything that was stated before her. She won't repeat all of the steps. As a resident who has put her children through schools in the city and as an educator in this city she brings the perspective of our children. It is very difficult to observe the stress our children are going through. It is affecting them in so many different ways both physically and psychologically. We need to do everything we can to be proactive and keep our kids safe. ICE is following our school busses. They are going into apartments. They are parked near schools and are circling schools. This shouldn't be tolerated. We need to be proactive, not reactive. Chris Hughes, Arden Hills — He thanked Council for calling this meeting. He agrees with everything that has been said. He couldn't be more proud. Without repeating anything that has already been brought up, he would like to offer one idea: a guiding principle. They have been given a lot of recommendations and lists tonight on things that can be done. For him, the guiding principle is when facing any of the items on this list we need to ask ourselves how we can make Arden Hills residents safe by acting on this. If there is a state, county or federal law that prohibits us from doing what we want to make us safe, don't stop and say the law won't let us. What can we do? He challenges City Council to keep that guiding principle in front of them to continue acting in all or our best interests. Liz Baumson, Arden Hills — She asks what we are doing for outreach to those who can't be here tonight. She said Columbia Heights started this conversation over a year ago. If we haven't thought about it, have we reached out to other communities who had the foresight to do this work. She would also like to encourage everyone in the room to sign up for constitutional observation training and connect with mutual aid groups that already exist. This protects us and our vulnerable neighbors. We should all be reaching out to our neighbors on our blocks to let them know we have the ability to help them.