Issued pursuant to City Charter, Section 7.1
I, Jacob Frey, Mayor of the City of Minneapolis, subject to the executive and administrative authority granted to me pursuant to Minneapolis City Charter, do hereby issue the following Executive Order:
Refusing Authorization for City Parking Lots, Parking Ramps, Vacant Lots, and Garages To Be Used For Civil Immigration Enforcement Activities
Whereas, Minneapolis is a Welcoming City, committed to protecting everyone’s dignity and humanity and being a city where the members of our resident and visitor community feel welcome and safe when interacting with City of Minneapolis employees and City services, regardless of their race, religion, immigration status, or national origin;
Whereas, the City’s Separation Ordinance makes clear that the City’s finite resources are to be used to provide municipal services to the Minneapolis community, and not for the purpose of enforcing civil immigration laws;
Whereas, federal agents in at least one other city have used municipal parking lots as a staging site for civil immigration enforcement operations, prompting similar municipal executive action;
Whereas, the use of City parking lots, parking ramps, vacant lots, and garages to facilitate civil immigration enforcement actions would be inconsistent with, and undermine the spirit and purpose of, the City’s Separation Ordinance;
Whereas, such use would erode the trust between immigrant communities and the City, weakening the relationships that are essential to ensuring public safety; and
Whereas, as the chief executive and administrative officer of the City of Minneapolis, it is within my authority to promulgate reasonable rules and regulations to implement City ordinances including the Separation Ordinance, and to issue executive orders establishing policies and procedures to direct and supervise the Administration, which includes departments responsible for overseeing and determining the appropriate use of City owned or controlled property.
Now, therefore, I, Jacob Frey, Mayor of the City of Minneapolis, do hereby order the following:
Section 1. Limitation on Use of City Parking Lots, Parking Ramps, Vacant Lots, and Garages. No federal, state, or local government entity or personnel is authorized to use any City-owned or City-controlled parking lot or ramp, vacant lot, or garage as a staging area, processing location, operations base, or any other similar use for civil immigration enforcement operations. "Staging area" means an area that is used to assemble, mobilize, and/or deploy vehicles, equipment, or materials, and related personnel, for the purpose of carrying out civil immigration enforcement operations. Such spaces are not available to the general public for similar activities, and federal, state, or local government entities or personnel will not receive special or enhanced access to City property for civil immigration enforcement operations.
Section 2. Implementation. The Commissioner of Community Safety and the City Operations Officer shall direct their relevant departments to collaborate to identify City-owned and City-controlled parking lots, parking ramps, vacant lots, or garages that either have been used, or are likely to be used in the future, by federal, state, or local government entities or personnel as a staging area, processing location, operations base, or any other similar activity for the purpose of civil immigration enforcement.
The relevant City departments must ensure that all such properties have clear signage stating:
This property is owned and/or controlled by the City of Minneapolis.
The City of Minneapolis does not authorize this property to be used, and it may not be used, by any federal, state, or local government entity or personnel as a staging area, processing location, operations base, or any other similar use for civil immigration enforcement operations.
The relevant City departments shall further ensure that, wherever appropriate, physical barriers such as locked gates are used to limit access to City-owned and/or City-controlled parking lots or ramps, vacant lots, or garages consistent with this Executive Order.
Section 3. Enforcement. Any City employee who becomes aware of any violation of this Executive Order must immediately report such violation to their department head and email a report of the violation, with as much information as possible, including time, location and a description of what was observed, to CAOimmigration@minneapolismn.gov. Failure to follow this directive may result in disciplinary action, up to and including discharge.
Section 4. Signage Template for Private Property Owners. The Administration shall design a signage template that private property owners and leaseholders can use, if they so choose, to create signage to identify non-public areas in which they wish to lawfully restrict activities related to civil immigration enforcement. Property owners and leaseholders that use this signage do so at their own discretion and assume any legal risk associated therewith. The Administration shall also make available to the public “know your rights” materials regarding the rights regarding entry by immigration enforcement officials.
Section 5. Scope. This order is not intended to and shall not be construed to interfere with the City’s compliance with the terms of any existing contract to which the City is a party. This order does not apply to property owned by the federal government and operated by or leased to the City. Nothing in this order shall be construed as restricting or interfering with the execution of court orders or lawful judicial warrants, or the enforcement of criminal law, nor as limiting the rights of any person or entity under state or federal law.
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This Executive Order shall become effective upon filing with the Office of City Clerk, as noted below, and shall continue in force until further notice or until it is amended, superseded, or rescinded.
December 3, 2025