Elected Officials, Sign-on Today to Defend the United States Constitution
Dear County colleagues and elected officials across the country:
Do you remember your first Oath of Office? Will you sign-on today to defend the United States Constitution and to uplift the harm occurring against our residents? My first Oath was January 2019; I recall the weight of my unbreakable vow to uphold the United States and Minnesota Constitutions, and I never thought we would be in these times. “Unprecedented” is a hallmark of my time in governing, especially from 2020 to present. But with an absolutely broken heart, I must assert that we are no longer in unprecedented times; in fact, we are presently in a predictable playbook – one that degrades democracy, and promotes authoritarianism, fascism, and autocracy.
Read my letter to elected officials like you, asking you to sign-on (or click on the letter to open a PDF)
Read the letter I urge you to sign (or click on the letter to open a PDF); fill out the form below to sign, and please spread the word
Click here to read the Hennepin County Board action passed unanimously on January 27.
The full text of the sign-on letter is also below. We will periodically update who has signed on.
January 30, 2026
Dear residents, families, and community members,
We, the undersigned elected officials from Minnesota and across the country, renew our Oaths to uphold the United States Constitution and pledge to govern with courage against fascism.
Minnesotans – from birthed United States citizens, to naturalized citizen immigrants, to lawful permanent residents, to lawful student and work visas, to families and kids seeking asylum or refuge – have endured taxpayer funded violence that is inhumane, unlawful, and unconstitutional. Neighbors have risked their own lives to bravely document the masked federal agents who have surrounded elementary schools and daycare centers to detain children and separate families, as well as the militarized force that has pursued overt racial profiling by aggressively demanding proof of citizenship during door-to-door searches with no legal documentation or judicial warrants.
Operation Metro Surge began on December 1, 2025 and is the largest “immigration enforcement operation” since the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was established in 2002. The exact number of this militarized force is unknown, but a recent report from this week stated that over 4,000 federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are in Minnesota – which is larger in number than Minnesota’s top law enforcement agencies combined. There are countless reports with observable and unnerving violations of the United States Constitution and the Minnesota Constitution.
We grieve the taxpayer funded killings of two neighbors – Renee Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24 – who were brutally shot dead by federal agents, with unsubstantiated misinformation spread on federal platforms. Minnesota has a specialized Force Investigations Unit within its nonpartisan Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, but federal officials have blocked Minnesota officials from robustly investigating the two killings of Minnesota residents who were United States citizens.
The national news inaccurately portrays “riots” and “agitators” in order to justify the indiscriminate and militarized violence against citizens, residents, families, and children. When in reality, mass mobilization across Minnesota on January 23 drew 50,000 to 75,000 people to downtown Minneapolis; no fatalities were reported, and the most arrests reported on this date were 100 clergy at the MSP Airport who were demonstrating against deportation flights.
The federal administration has chosen to cut funds for food, healthcare, and housing – and has seemingly reallocated these funds toward kidnapping, violence, and family separation. More videos and reports are uplifted every day from brave residents and neighbors across the country, which plainly show that people’s Constitutional rights are being blatantly violated by their own government and funded by their own tax dollars.
We, as elected officials who have taken Oaths to uphold the United States Constitution, as well as to uphold our respective State Constitutions, call on each person, government worker, and elected official to:
Clearly denounce the unconstitutional, unlawful, and inhumane practices by DHS, ICE, and CBP that each of us have witnessed directly, which have been documented by brave residents across the country.
Call for the immediate discontinuation of this taxpayer funded violence by DHS – and the removal of 4,000 ICE and CBP personnel from Minnesota.
Demand that Minnesota officials are permitted to participate in joint or parallel investigations for the videotaped killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti – because the prohibition of local investigation means the Minnesota Constitution is not being upheld.
Demand financial transparency regarding the financial model that supports ICE detention.
Signed by:
Irene Fernando, Hennepin County, Board Chair and District 2 Commissioner
Angela Conley, Hennepin County, District 4 Commissioner
Deborah Goettel, Hennepin County, Vice Chair and County Commissioner
Heather Edelson, Hennepin, Hennepin County Commissioner
Mandy Meisner, Anoka County, County Commissioner
Mike Gamache, Anoka County, County Commissioner
Julie Jeppson, Anoka County, County Commissioner
Jen Corn, Berkeley Board of Education, Vice President
Nichole Klonowski, Brooklyn Park, MN, Central District City Council Member
Christian Eriksen, Brooklyn Park, MN, Councilmember
Tony McGarvey, Brooklyn Park, MN, City Councilmber, West District
Shelle Page, Central District Brooklyn Park, City Council
Matt Weyer, City & County of Honolulu, Honolulu City Councilmember
Elliott Payne, City of Minneapolis, Council President
Aisha Chughtai, City of Minneapolis, Majority Leader and Ward 10 Councilmember
Peter Butler, Coon Rapids City Council, City Council Member
Christopher Geisler, Coon Rapids Ward 4, City Council Member
Rebecca Villegas, County of Hawaii, Hawaii County Council Member
KipuKai Kualii, County of Kauai, Council Vice Chair
Tamara Paltin, County of Maui, County Councilmember
Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, County of Maui, County Councilmember
Laurie Halverson, Dakota county, County Commissioner
Mary Hamann-Roland, Dakota County, Commissioner
Wendy Durrwachter, Duluth, City councilor
Josh Berg, Elko New Market, City Council Member
Sophia Ginis, Golden Valley, City Council Member
Tracey Fissy, Golden Valley, City Council
Chris Queitzsch, Golden Valley, City Council Member
Maurice Harris, Golden Valley, Council Member
Heather Kimball, Hawaii County, Council Member
Michelle Y, Hawaii County, Councilmember
Jenn Kagiwada, Hawaii County, HI, County Councilmember
Tina Nakada Grandinetti, Hawaii House of Representatives, Representative
Amy Perruso, Hawaii State House of Representatives, Representative
Kevin Parkinson, Jackson, MS, City Councilperson
Addison Bulosan, Kauaʻi County, County councilmember
Fern Holland, Kauai County, Councilmember
Gabriel Johnskn, Lanai island, Maui County council
Nohelani Uu-Hodgins, Maui County, Councilmember
Shane Sinenci, Maui County, County commissioner
Jason Garcia, Minneapolis, District 4, Park and Recreation Board Commissioner
Jamie Long, Minnesota, DFL House Floor Leader
Kelly Moller, Minnesota House 40a, State Representative
John Huot, Minnesota House district 56B, Representative Minnesota House
Katie Jones, Minnesota House District 61a, Representative
Mike Freiberg, Minnesota House of Representatives, State Representative
Peter Fischer, Minnesota House of Representatives, State Representative
Esther Agbaje, Minnesota House of Representatives, State Representative
David Gottfried, Minnesota House of Representatives, Representative
Samantha Sencer-mura, Minnesota House of Representatives, State Representative
Xp Lee, Minnesota- 34B, State Representative
Brad Tabke, MN 54A, State Representative
Robert Bierman, MN 56A, State House Representative
Sydney Jordan, MN 60A, State Representative
Sandra Feist, MN District 39B, State Representative
Nathan Coulter, MN House of Representatives - HD 51B, State Representative
John Marty, MN Senate, Senator
Mary Jo McGuire, Ramsey, County Commissioner
Mai Chong Xiong, Ramsey County, County Commissioner
Garrison McMurtrey, Ramsey County, County Commissioner
Tara Jebens-Singh, Ramsey County, County Commissioner
Kelly Miller, Ramsey County, County Commissioner
Mia Parisian, Robbinsdale, City Council Member
Dan Doering, Rochester, City Council Member
Julie Strahan, Roseville MN, City council
Rebecca Noecker, Saint Paul, City Council President
Cheniqua Johnson, Saint Paul, Minnesota - Ward 7, City Councilmember
Susan Ellenberg, Santa Clara County, CA, County Supervisor
JOHN DOAN, Shoreview, City Council Member
Annie Harala, St Louis County, District 1 Commissioner
Lona Doolan, St. Anthony Village, City Council Member
MIKE KRACHMER, Vadnais Heights, MN, Mayor
Alice Lee, Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu, Maui County Council Chair
Michelle Clasen, Washington County, County Commissioner
Chris Streiff Oji, White Bear Lake Area Schools, School Board Member