Law enforcement in St. Paul now required to wear visible ID, and council considering ordinance to prohibit law enforcement from wearing masks

Have Saint Paul city leaders done enough to counter Operation Metro Surge and help affected residents? City Council members got an earful Feb. 11, 2026, as they reviewed and voted on different measures to regulate the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

The criticisms followed an earlier incident at Selby and Western avenues earlier that day, after an ICE chase resulted in three damaged vehicles and one person being taken away in an ambulance.

City Council members are bringing forward measures to strengthen the city’s separation ordinance, spelling out the duties of local law enforcement versus federal agents. Those measures will continue despite the Feb.12 announcement that Operation Metro Surge is winding down over the next week. White House border czar Tom Homan made the announcement, saying that a smaller number of personnel will stay in Minnesota for a transition. He didn’t offer specifics.

VISIBLE ID REQUIRED

The City Council Feb.11 gave unanimous approval to an ordinance that requires law enforcement officers to visibly display identification on the outermost layer of their uniforms while performing official duties. Identification can be in the form of a nameplate or badge number, or both.

“When agents of the state wield power over the lives of people in Saint Paul, our residents deserve to know who they are and under what authority they are operating,” said Ward Four Council Member Molly Coleman.

MASKS PROHIBITED

The council also held a public hearing on an ordinance restricting the wearing of masks by law enforcement officers. That ordinance could be adopted as soon as Feb.18.

HOTELS ASKED NOT TO HOUSE ICE

The council also passed a resolution Feb. 11 asking that the city’s hotels not house federal immigration agents, citing city residents’ “increased anxiety, fear, and economic hardship as a result of heightened immigration enforcement activities in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.” While council members admitted that they cannot force hotels to bar ICE agents, the resolution sends a message that ICE isn’t welcome in Saint Paul.

But speakers said they want the city to do more, with several speakers from the group Neighbors Protecting Neighbors. Some referenced the November 2025 incident on Rose Avenue where Saint Paul Police were called to assist ICE in a detainment action. Chemical irritants and nonlethal munitions were used on a large crowd.

“I live in the real Saint Paul and things are getting worse each day,” said Ward 2 resident Peter Zender. He and others said the council shouldn’t be taking piecemeal approach to regulating ICE.

Others agreed, pointing out that Minneapolis City Council revised its entire separation ordinance last year, Minneapolis has also provided $1 million in rental assistance for families affected by Operation Metro Surge.

Ward 1 resident Megan Unruh, who saw the aftermath of the Selby-Western accident, asked the council to do more. “It is mid-February and what material relief do we have here?” she said.

Other speakers also referenced the Selby-Western accident, with one woman describing seeing the ICE chase on streets near the Rondo Education Center, 560 Concordia Ave.

The fleeing driver wound up in an accident, colliding with one vehicle and then another. The drive fled on foot but was brought back to the scene by another federal agent’s vehicle, and then transported in an ambulance for non-life-threatening injuries. A crowd of about 100 people gathered to witness the accident.

Assistant Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement indicated that ICE agents were trying to stop a man from Honduras who was suspected of being in the country illegally when the chase began. The statement criticized the man for driving recklessly and endangering public safety.

Mayor Kaohly Her issued a statement about the accident, saying it “underscores the fact that ICE is still present, causing chaos, and putting residents at risk in Saint Paul. I want to thank those who continue to show up and keep watch over their neighbors.”

Her thanked Saint Paul Police for their actions at the scene, but added, “This is just another incident that tells us loud and clear: Operation Metro Surge needs to end immediately.”