The solution to a lack of money is money.

Opinion | Why pausing evictions after the ICE surge is a bad idea

The better solution to this crisis is more rental assistance for our struggling neighbors.

By multiple authors
Guest contributor(s) to the Minnesota Star Tribune
March 19, 2026 at 1:10PM

Star Tribune opinion editor’s note: This article was signed by several leaders of nonprofit housing providers in the Twin Cities region. Their names and organizations are listed below.

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In the wake of Operation Metro Surge, our communities are hurting. As mission-driven nonprofit housing providers, we see the pain firsthand: families afraid to leave their homes, parents detained and small businesses on the brink. The trauma is real, and the economic fallout is staggering.

It is precisely because we care about the long-term stability of these families that we are sharing why extending pre-eviction notice periods from 30 to 60 days — such as the ordinances under consideration in both Minneapolis and St Paul — will produce worse outcomes for the people we serve. [Opinion editor’s note: The Minneapolis City Council is expected to vote next week on whether to override Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto on the proposed ordinance. The St. Paul City Council is expected to vote on its proposal next week.] Instead, the solution to this crisis is immediate access to rental assistance for all of our struggling neighbors.

We understand this statement sounds counterintuitive: How could a coalition of mission-driven nonprofit housing organizations dedicated to keeping people housed oppose a policy that gives renters more time? Unfortunately, more time in the eviction process does not automatically equal more stability. In reality, time without money is a debt trap.

Currently, most residents arrive in housing court when they are two to three months behind on rent. Without rental assistance, these residents face eviction. We commend the truly remarkable mutual aid response from our community and agree that this crisis cannot be carried by neighbors alone. Yet the largest source of rental assistance available to residents — programs in Hennepin and Ramsey counties —requires an eviction court filing before a household can apply. Extending the notice period delays that filing, unintentionally delaying access to the assistance that could keep families in their homes.

We are also hearing from advocates for these policies that housing providers don’t need to wait to engage with residents — and we agree. We engage as soon as a resident falls behind and work to find early solutions such as payment plans and external sources of assistance. However, when this engagement does not result in a resolution, clients find themselves in a mountain of debt by the time they enter court.

Rental assistance is the only solution to this crisis. We urge local and state leaders to focus on direct, rapid response rental assistance to meet our neighbors’ needs. Minneapolis’ and St. Paul’s respective $1 million and $1.42 million recent investments in rental assistance is a start (and, helpfully, neither of these programs requires an eviction filing). These are exactly the right actions for local elected officials to take to support city residents.

We pledge to continue working with our city and state leaders and advocating for sufficient funding for emergency rental assistance. Specifically, we support a state legislative proposal that would appropriate additional rental assistance statewide.

Additionally, there is a common misconception that housing providers can absorb months of nonpayment from multiple residents. As mission-driven providers who own and operate the city’s most deeply affordable homes, we operate on very thin margins. Policy proposals that are out of sync with emergency rental assistance programs not only push residents into dire financial situations, but they also threaten the stability of the entire affordable housing system upon which many others in our community depend.

Like many others across the region — including the supporters of these proposals — we have been raising money, collecting and distributing groceries, organizing logistics for families who are sheltering in place, supporting our small business commercial tenants and much more. We share the urgency of many residents, organizers, and both city councils who have pushed for these policy changes to respond to the crisis created by Operation Metro Surge.

However, we believe the solution to a lack of money ismoney. It is because of our deep commitment to housing stability that we feel compelled to share our collective experience and knowledge, which tell us that this well-intentioned policy will be counterproductive to its stated aims. It will cause real harm to many of our community’s most vulnerable residents.

This article was signed by Caroline Horton, interim CEO of Aeon; the Rev. Kyle Hanson, executive director and CEO of Agate Housing Services;Jessie Hendel, executive director of Alliance Housing; Alicia House, co-CEO of RS Eden; Chris LaTondresse, president and CEO of Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative; Jamie Verbrugge, president and CEO of Catholic Charities Twin Cities; Deidre Schmidt, president and CEO of CommonBond Communities;Karla Henderson, president and CEO of Project for Pride in Living;Steve Horsfield, executive director of Simpson Housing; Elizabeth Flannery, CEO and president ofTrellis; and Amanda C. Novak, executive director ofTwin Cities Housing Development Corporation.

Original Post: https://www.startribune.com/twin-cities-housing-renter-rights-tenant-advocacy/601614718