Community Members on Front Lines Ask for Statewide Eviction Moratorium

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Nelsie Yang of the Saint Paul City Council speaks out to support a statewide eviction moratorium (photo by Olivia Worcester)

With February rent due, at least 68 organizations came together to ask for an eviction moratorium so that renters cannot be kicked out of their homes while ICE agents are targeting Black and brown faces. Many families are sheltering in place to avoid being taken from workplaces, cars, and streets.

According to a news release from United Renters for Justice / Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia and Take Action MN, more than 1,200 evictions were filed in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties in January. “Infrastructures of care in Minnesota are a key way we are keeping each other safe. It’s time for elected officials to follow the lead of neighbors, faith communities, parents and educators, and step into their leadership.”

The Minneapolis and Saint Paul City Councils passed resolutions asking that Governor Tim Walz enact a statewide moratorium.

A news conference was held at the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, which filed 35 evictions in January 2026, per the Hennepin County Eviction Dashboard. No landlord should be putting families at risk of losing one of the only places we are somewhat protected from ICE terror – our homes.

Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia/United Renters for Justice organizer Farhan Badel opened up the news conference: “We’re here today because the rent is due in two days. And we know thousands of our neighbors can’t pay. As a Somali American, I am constantly terrified. I came here to escape war, and I feel like I’m living in a war zone, carrying the burden of how I’ll make it to work safely, how I’ll make it home safely, how I’ll provide for my family. I know thousands of my neighbors are being forced to ask the same questions, which is why we are calling for a statewide moratorium on all evictions until this occupation ends. Our families should not have to face the economic consequences of this federal terror. There are no words to describe the cruelty of putting families out in the cold when they are already living under occupation.

“I have seen my neighbors do everything they can to care for each other, driving each other’s kids to school, paying each other’s rent. We need officials at every level of government to use every tool at their disposal to do the same.”

Jess Zarik, co-executive director of HOME Line has seen a large increase in calls from renters in need of financial aid, sometimes because the caller relies on the income of someone who has been abducted by ICE.

“Evictions are not just paperwork. They are the state deciding who gets to stay housed and who gets removed, separating families, destabilizing neighborhoods, and pushing people deeper into crisis. Housing is treated as a commodity instead of the basic human right it is. The result is cruelty, especially when landlords, including public ones, choose punishment over care. … The scale of this crisis right now is unlike anything we’ve seen in our 34-year history. We’re seeing a nearly 80 percent increase in renters seeking financial assistance compared to last year — levels that exceed even the early months of the covid pandemic.”

Zarik added, “Last year, Minnesota saw 25,484 eviction cases — the highest number we’ve ever seen in the state” and warns that it will be even higher this year if renters are not allowed to get stable footing after work disruptions. “This month alone, MPHA and their related nonprofit corporation have filed 41 evictions, many for non-payment amounts smaller than the cost of filing the case itself. A moratorium is the fastest way to stop immediate harm. Cities must extend their pre-eviction timelines. Public housing authorities must pause non-payment evictions. And state leaders must call a special session to pass a minimum of $50 million dollars in low-barrier, accessible rental assistance to keep our neighbors housed. This is not a normal moment. While some action is being taken, it falls far short of what this crisis requires.”

Taylor Kohn, one of the leaders of the IPG tenant union, spoke about the work involved in organizing around the properties owned by Investment Property Group in Minneapolis. “The people who live in my building represent what’s beautiful about the Whittier neighborhood: Somali immigrants, neighbors who speak Spanish, truck drivers, hospitality workers, people from all different backgrounds living together under one roof. Before ICE came, we formed a tenant union to demand better conditions from our landlord. Now we are using the union to protect one another from ICE. I don’t even know the number of times agents have abducted people off of our street when they are in the neighborhood. I have neighbors that ask every single night if the coast is clear for them to come home from work. My neighbors are risking their lives to pay the rent. This risk is completely unnecessary, and it terrifies me.”

Kohn indicated a citywide tenant union is nearly ready to launch “so that every tenant in Minneapolis and Saint Paul can protect one another against ICE today, and to build the collective power to contend with landlord exploitation tomorrow.”

Eva Geister, a tenant and teacher in South Minneapolis, is a representative of the Aldrich Avenue Tenant Association. She said, “This crisis has shown us that there is nothing more important than organizing with our neighbors. The tenant union is the best vehicle to protect our communities, both from the current threat of ice and the constant threat of predatory landlords. This eviction moratorium is housing justice in action. My neighbors and I formed the Aldrich Avenue Tenant Association, with the support of the South Minneapolis tenants union, because our conditions and our apartment were unlivable — no heat in the dead of winter, bed bugs, and pests improperly treated. …

“It was not the police or the city who committed to supporting the fight. It was my immediate neighbors who showed up with advice, provided towels to stop floods, gave me help with bedbug treatment, and even offered a place to crash when my unit was too cold to sleep in.

Lucid Thomas, a tenant on the west side of Saint Paul, is the housing justice organizer with Eastside Freedom Library. “I am a huge believer in the power of community. Community is who has kept me safe. Community is who helped me find food and get connected to resources that I needed to survive. What we are doing in the Twin Cities together right now has been an exemplary show of community in my neighborhood. We are creating rental assistance funds, responding to ICE presence in our neighborhood, and delivering basic needs directly to our neighbors, whose only safety can be found by staying home. … Tenants across Minneapolis and Saint Paul are launching a Twin Cities tenant union. The only way out is through, and the only way through is together, with union solidarity.”

Omar Fateh, the state senator representing Southside Minneapolis District 62, spoke as well. “With investments of $100 billion in ICE agents to terrorize our neighborhoods, at a time in which they’re gutting health care and [we’re told there is] no money to house our neighbors — this is not right. I’ve heard countless stories from neighbors that they’re scared to go outside, they’re afraid to go to work, they’re afraid to go to the grocery stores, they’re afraid to seek medical attention. And while they’re scared to go out, their bills are piling up. In a time in which the full weight of the government is upon us, we need our local leaders, including our governor, to stand with us, and this is why I’m calling for an eviction moratorium.”

Natasha Dockter, a vice president with the Minneapolis Federation of Educators, is a social studies teacher. “ Our educators are stepping out in profound and courageous ways. We are checking in on missing students and supporting families who are living in fear. … While everyday neighbors and educators are stepping up in brave ways across our city, to care for our city’s youth and families, our state elected leaders also have responsibility in this moment. … An eviction moratorium is not just housing policy. It is a child safety policy. It is a way to prevent further harm and violence towards young people, which they are already seeing so much of in our city and across the state. It is a way to show families that our state government will do everything in its power to protect and care for families.”

Aisha Chughtai of the Minneapolis City Council speaks out to support a statewide eviction moratorium (photo by Olivia Worcester)

Becca Dryden, a mother of elementary schoolers and a parent organizer for the Minneapolis Families for Public School. She reiterated the fear families are experiencing, and said, “I’ve been in meetings with other parents and educators, scrambling to figure out how to keep our community members, our kids, in safe homes. Our schools are the anchors of our communities, tethering us to one another in our common goal of taking care of our kids. Our school communities have been fiercely organizing to meet the needs of families through mutual aid.”

She said more than 950 people have been trained in a sanctuary school model of protection and mutual aid. “We’ve recorded almost $1 million in funds raised by our community. … But let us be clear, this burden cannot be placed solely on our already depleted community. We need elected officials at every level of government to step up and follow our lead by doing everything in their power to care for Minnesota families who are living in fear and facing eviction.”

Nelsie Yang, council member representing Saint Paul Ward 6, is the daughter of refugees and the first Hmong American woman elected to the Saint Paul City Council.

“The 55106 zip code in the east side is a neighborhood in our city that has experienced the highest levels of eviction. This is unacceptable. Landlords are choosing to evict tenants while we are under an occupation, and that is an act of violence. I am so proud to have voted all of my council members in Saint Paul on a resolution calling on Governor Walz to pass an eviction moratorium.”

Aisha Chugtai, council member representing ward 10 in Minneapolis, said, “80 percent of my constituents are renters, and that means thousands of my constituents are at risk of displacement Monday morning, when evictions are going to be filed. A safe and stable home is foundational to our success as a community, and to a family’s trajectory. I’m talking to constituents every day who are terrified of losing their homes. We’re not going to GoFundMe our way out of this problem. The scale of the problem is too big for us to be able to meet with, the love in our hearts, and the 20 extra dollars in our Venmo. We need action from our governor to enact a statewide eviction moratorium now.”

“I have a letter that we are going to deliver to MPHA urging the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority to halt all evictions for the duration of this federal occupation, to dismiss all active eviction cases, and to provide tenants with a three-month grace period to repay any rental debt accrued during the occupation.”

Dial 651-201-3400 and ask for no eviction

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