Opinion | ICE created a public health crisis. Minnesota must act as it did during COVID.

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Since early December, many families across the Twin Cities have sheltered in place out of fear of being assaulted, detained or deported during aggressive federal immigration operations. Parents have kept children home from school. Workers have missed shifts. Essential activities such as grocery shopping, attending religious services and seeking medical care have been interrupted.

Federal officials have announced that Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota is coming to an end, but the extent of the “drawdown” by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) remains uncertain. Even if federal agents continue to scale back their presence, the fear and disruption experienced by Minnesota families over the past three months will take time and support to overcome. This is a public health emergency that requires prompt policy intervention, with clear precedent from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the early weeks of the COVID-19 state of emergency, Minnesota policymakers acted swiftly to provide communities with resources to safely shelter in place and weather economic hardship. A statewide eviction moratorium kept families in their homes. Expanded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits kept food on tables. Emergency paid leave mandates allowed workers to take time off without losing wages. Expanded unemployment insurance supported those who unexpectedly lost work. These measures were not radical; they were pragmatic public health interventions designed to buffer households from sudden shocks.

To document how states implemented emergency measures to support their residents through this unprecedented health and economic crisis, I worked alongside a team of public health researchers to develop the COVID-19 U.S. State Policy database. We saw how these kinds of social policies were central to an effective pandemic response and served as critical tools for preventing avoidable health harms even beyond COVID-19 illness. At the time, our work memorialized a period of political creativity. Now, these policies serve as the standard for state policymakers who are responsible for protecting families through other public health emergencies. They also provide a road map for the tools Minnesota policymakers could use to address the current crisis.

The prolonged surge of federal immigration enforcement has made it unsafe for many workers in Minnesota to report to job sites. Working parents have had to take time away from their jobs to care for their young children who are attending school remotely. Lost shifts often mean lost wages, if not lost jobs as well. Families report mounting financial strain, including difficulty affording food and falling behind on rent or mortgage payments.

Earlier this week, a bill was introduced in the Minnesota Legislature that would provide emergency rental assistance to low-income households at risk of losing their housing, much like during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, community organizations, unions and city councils have called on Walz to issue an eviction moratorium to protect families who are struggling to afford rent. Research shows that these housing policies can also support health and well-being in the midst of a crisis. For instance, eviction moratoria in response to COVID-19 may have protected against mental distress, child maltreatment and overdose death.

Walz also knows the importance of addressing food insufficiency, as he often points to the state’s Free School Meals for Kids program. With many students now learning remotely from home, robust community-wide efforts to collect donations and distribute food have helped provide groceries to families in need. Further support for hunger relief can also come from the state level in the form of expanded SNAP payments and direct cash assistance. Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic suggests that increased SNAP benefits were associated with decreased food insufficiency and anxiety symptoms, and less difficulty paying for other household items.

Even in an ideal scenario — one in which ICE and CBP fully withdraw from Minnesota and do not return — the community-wide health impacts of heightened surveillance and persistent threats of federal violence will be long lasting for immigrant and non-immigrant households alike. Black, Hispanic and Indigenous communities already face structural inequities in housing, employment and access to medical care, and bear a disproportionate burden of harm perpetuated by federal immigration raids. Without policy interventions designed explicitly to address the needs of the most vulnerable households in Minnesota, the current crisis will continue to widen existing health inequities.

The people of Minnesota responded to Operation Metro Surge with solidarity and mutual aid. Support networks did not need to reinvent the wheel; organizers leaned on familiar strategies they knew to be effective. Minnesotan policymakers owe their residents that same level of commitment.

The public health tools needed in this moment are not theoretical or extreme. They are evidence-based policy interventions the state has already implemented successfully in past crises. By taking decisive action to reinstate income supports and housing protections, leaders can help communities rebuild a sense of stability and security. As Minnesota takes steps toward recovery, policymakers should match the courage and coordination of their constituents, striving for a safer, healthier state for all who call it home.