Moorhead council details ad hoc committee on immigration enforcement; members to compile resources and FAQs

Council members on March 9 described the work of an ad hoc committee the mayor convened to explore local responses to immigration enforcement and related community concerns.

Council Member Nisbet said the group includes 13 participants — the mayor, the city manager, the police chief, the city attorney, the economic development authority chair, the Human Rights Commission chair and representatives from local immigrant-serving organizations including the Immigrant Development Center, Immigrant Law Center, Kurdish Diaspora, New Roots Midwest and the United Liberian Association. "We first met this last Friday... We have plans to meet again Friday, April 3rd at the Hjemkomst," Nisbet said.

Nisbet said committee work at the March 6 meeting focused on gathering feedback from people of diverse backgrounds, compiling a list of existing resources and translating the Moorhead Police Department FAQ into the community's top non‑English languages. He described an action to produce a concise one‑pager outlining what the city can and cannot do regarding federal agents and immigration enforcement, and said staff were asked to make that information accessible publicly.

During public comment, Moorhead resident Catherine Ferguson asked whether the committee had considered limiting access for enforcement activities to certain city spaces (for example, staging areas outside schools, clinics or polling places) and whether residents could observe committee meetings or receive public updates. Council members responded that they would follow up with the city manager and provide information about public access and reporting; the committee's next meeting was set and staff were asked to clarify public participation rules.

Multiple council members urged expedited follow-up and proposed placing regular updates on future meeting agendas so the council and community receive timely information; one council member urged caution about unintended consequences when considering municipal responses (for example, how rental moratoria may affect other vulnerable residents). The committee will continue collecting information and developing community-facing resources ahead of its April meeting.