The St. Paul City Council is urging state leaders to put a temporary halt to energy and gas shutoffs during Operation Metro Surge, the ongoing occupation of the Twin Cities by federal agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The council voted on Wednesday in support of a resolution asking Gov. Tim Walz and state officials to direct the state’s Public Utility Commission to enact an energy and gas shutoff moratorium “to keep Minnesota families safe and protect them from ICE.”

They noted the 55106 zip code, which covers much of St. Paul’s East Side, had the highest rate of utility shut-offs in all of Xcel Energy’s customer area even before Operation Metro Surge began.

“The federal government’s campaign of discriminatory mass deportation has inflicted terror nationwide, and the Trump administration’s fixation on Minnesota has cruelly targeted our community with harassment, intimidation, and violence,” reads the council resolution.

“Many residents are unable to move freely due to the threat of harassment, violence, and abduction, forcing them to shelter-in place and impacting their ability to work and provide for their families,” it goes on to say.

Council members acknowledged that some cold weather protections already exist in Minnesota under the Cold Weather Rule, but they said those protections — which expire April 30 — kick in after a resident proactively contacts their utility to negotiate a payment plan or enroll in an energy assistance program.

They also noted that Xcel Energy provides customer assistance in English and Spanish on their support line, leaving payment plans virtually inaccessible to residents with other language barriers. The council resolution calls on Xcel Energy to add bill payment assistance in Hmong, Karen and Somali.

Most state and federal assistance programs are only open to U.S. citizens who share Social Security information, “which could potentially be exploited by ICE if they subpoenaed that information,” reads the council resolution.

The resolution, which was sponsored by Council Members Nelsie Yang and HwaJeong Kim, was included on the council’s consent agenda, where items are voted on en masse.

The council had previously voted Jan. 21 to ask the governor and state leaders for a temporary eviction moratorium, with the goal of protecting workers impacted by Operation Metro Surge from losing their housing.

The governor enacted an emergency moratorium on residential evictions in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission coordinated a similar moratorium on disconnections for state-regulated utilities.

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