Activists say that the federal deployment of masked, armed federal agents to the state has made the eviction moratorium urgent. While ICE officials have announced a drawback of ICE activity in Minnesota, some argue that the economic damage has already been done, and that many will be scrambling to keep up with rent payments in the coming months.
“A lot of people just can’t get to and from work because ICE has been stopping random cars on the road, largely based on what they think the skin color of the driver is,” says Klyde Warren, a Minneapolis renter and tenant organizer with Investment Property Group (IPG) and the Twin Cities Tenants Union. “How are you supposed to go to work and make money to pay your rent in those conditions? The answer is a lot of people just can’t right now, but the eviction courts are still operating as if things are normal and they’re not normal.”
MFE’s “teach-in” included a vocabulary lesson defining the words “moratorium” and “abolish,” and a reading from a book, Dreamers (Soñadores) by Yuyi Morales. A pop-up classroom installation was lined with sayings such as, “This student’s family self-deported,” “This student was detained by ICE,” and “We don’t know where this student is.”
According to a January 30 press release from South Minneapolis renters organization, Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia (IX), 1,219 evictions have already been filed in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties in the past month. The release states that MPHA has already filed 35 evictions in January, more than any other landlord, according to publicly available data.
Asked to comment on these concerns, Drew Halunen, a MPHA spokesperson, told Workday Magazine over email, “MPHA takes an all-of-the-above approach to help residents having trouble paying their rent. The agency has an extensive intervention system led by its housing stabilization team to ensure residents can remain housed. Since 2023, this team has helped MPHA residents complete over 1,450 applications to receive nearly $2.4 million in rent relief through Hennepin County’s rental assistance programs.”
“While recent changes to Hennepin County’s emergency rental assistance program have made this work more difficult, including requiring MPHA to file for an eviction before residents are eligible for support, MPHA is committed to ensuring an eviction action is a tool of absolute last resort,” Halunen said.
In response to MPHA’s comments, a spokesperson from IX told Workday Magazine, , “Tenants in Minneapolis are in a complete crisis situation. Under these conditions, no tenant should be facing an eviction filing and fear losing their home—the last place of safety from ICE terror. We implore MPHA to join escalating calls for immediate statewide eviction protections and increased rental assistance for tenants who cannot pay rent as a consequence of the ongoing federal occupation.”
Warren began organizing with neighbors in the summer of 2024. In an interview with Workday Magazine, Warren describes IPG’s 21 buildings as “not well cared for,” adding that common issues include infestations of mice and cockroaches, lack of repairs, security concerns, and lack of heating in the winter for extended periods of time.
Warren’s tenant union joined the call for an eviction moratorium, organized by the Twin Cities Tenants Union. The Twin Cities Tenants Union is open to Minneapolis and St. Paul tenants, regardless of their building’s ownership or management, according to Warren. The tenant union’s top priority is the statewide eviction moratorium.
Charlie Tirey, a Minneapolis renter and tenant organizer with the Aldrich Avenue Tenant Association, also joined the call for a statewide eviction moratorium. Tirey began organizing in November 2025 when his apartment building, owned by BLVD Property Management, did not address concerns of lack of heating during the start of the winter months. (Minneapolis buildings are required by law to turn on heat in residential buildings on October 1.) After door-knocking the building, Tirey and his neighbors organized a tenant union.
Workday Magazine reached out to both IPG and BLVD Property Management for comment and did not hear back by deadline.
Tirey says, “Our community is in a state of emergency, and we need to act so people can remain in their homes, especially during the freezing cold.” Tirey and his neighbors have been organizing mutual aid efforts for neighbors who fear ICE detention, like grocery runs and walking neighbors out to their cars.
However, Tirey urges that the state must act too. “We can’t be allowing our community members to be violently abducted just because they’re trying to get to work so they can retain their housing and get food on their tables,” he adds.
Several unions and worker centers have also joined the call for an eviction moratorium, including Minneapolis Federation of Educators, several AFSCME locals, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL), LIUNA Local 363, SEIU Local 26 and Local 284, Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), Saint Paul Federation of Educators Local 28, and UNITE HERE Local 17.
Natasha Dockter, a social studies teacher and vice-president of MFE, spoke at a January 30 rally, calling on Gov. Walz “to act with the same courage we are seeing from us, the people, and declare an immediate statewide eviction moratorium.” Docktor continues, “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.”
City and state officials have also joined the call for an eviction moratorium, including Minnesota State Sen. Omar Fateh, Minneapolis City Councilmember Aisha Chugtai, and St. Paul City Councilmember Nelsie Yang.
Workday Magazine reached out to the governor’s office regarding the state’s plans to call for an eviction moratorium and did not receive a response by deadline.
In the early months of the pandemic in 2020, Minnesota enacted an eviction moratorium in the late-spring lasting into the summer. Many organizers recognized the legislation as an essential component to support renter’s ability to shelter in place without fear of eviction. However, according to a recent report by Axios, Gov. Walz would first need to declare a “peacetime emergency.”
Both Warren and Tirey agree that Minnesota is facing a similar crisis today with the surge of ICE activity and detensions. “A moratorium could actually prevent that type of situation from spiraling the way Covid did. It’s also a preventative measure,” says Warren.
Tirey adds, “We should be doing everything to retain community safety and community peace, and that starts with keeping people in their homes.”
>> The article above was written by Isabela Escalona. Amie Stager also contributed reporting to this article. It is reprinted from Workday Minnesota.
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