City of Minneapolis sends guidance out to small businesses regarding ICE activity
By Easton Martin | January 13, 2026
Amid growing unrest, The city of Minneapolis recently sent guidance to small businesses addressing how to respond to increased ICE activity in the city. Framed as a public safety resource, the letter encourages business owners to create “safety plans,” provide “know your rights” training to employees, and even report ICE sightings through the city’s 311 system.
City officials are framing this as neutral guidance, but the message is a serious cause for concern about the role local government is trying to play in relation to federal law enforcement.
At its core, the guidance treats the presence of ICE agents as a potential threat rather than a routine function of law enforcement. By advising residents on how to respond when federal agents are seen in their neighborhoods, the city is blurring the line between legitimate safety information and political signaling. This approach portrays federal officers as something to monitor or report, which will only deepen the city’s crisis.
The city also places an unnecessary burden on small businesses. Owners are now being asked to train staff, create response plans, and prepare for encounters they neither control nor influence. Many businesses are already struggling with inflation, staffing shortages, and rising costs at the expense of the city’s wasteful spending and fraud. Asking them to absorb the fallout of a political dispute between city leaders and federal authorities only adds to their challenges.
There is also a real danger of confusion. Encouraging people to call 311 to report ICE activity will almost certainly lead to misuse of public resources and uncertainty about what constitutes an emergency. Public safety systems work best when guidance is clear and apolitical. This message, however, mixes safety advice with leftist anti-ICE messaging.
Using official city communications to subtly discourage cooperation with federal law enforcement sets a troubling precedent.
The city has also recently ramped up their resistance to following federal immigration laws, including Executive order 2025-02, which bans federal immigration enforcement from using city parking lots and ramps.
See here:
https://www.minneapolismn.gov/government/mayor/executive-orders/executive-order-2025-02
