State Sen. Omar Fateh, one of the leading candidates in the Minneapolis mayoral election, is backing calls for local police to “immediately arrest” law enforcement officers who wear masks.
Fateh recently appeared at a press conference hosted by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), which has published a list of demands for “strengthening” the city’s separation ordinance. That ordinance prohibits city employees from participating in immigration enforcement.
Among other things, the MIRAC petition calls on the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) to refuse cooperation “with federal agents/officers from any federal law enforcement agency for any reason,” and “immediately arrest any law enforcement agent or officer, at any level of government and with any agency, who covers their face or obscures their identity or badge by any means.”
The petition also demands that MPD officers “assist residents to immediately remove federal agents from the scene” of protests “where residents are confronting federal law enforcement.”
“If it’s not clear I want to make it very clear that yes, I do support strengthening our separation ordinance and yes, I do support each and every one of the demands that MIRAC outlined because they are my demands as well,” Fateh said at the Oct. 16 MIRAC press conference.
MIRAC confirmed with MPR News that Fateh, DeWayne Davis, and Jazz Hampton “signed onto the group’s” demands.
The Department of Homeland Security has said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers wear masks during operations because they are facing a 1,000% increase in assaults against them along with “doxing campaigns targeting federal officers and their families.”
“When our heroic law enforcement officers conduct operations, they clearly identify themselves as law enforcement while wearing masks to protect themselves from being targeted by highly sophisticated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, criminal rings, murderers, and rapists,” DHS said in a press release.
While incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey opposes federal law enforcement’s use of masks, he took issue with Fateh’s stance during a debate on TPT Almanac Friday night.
“We have among the strongest separation ordinances in the entire country, and I support making it even stronger because we stand by our neighbors, and specifically we stand by our undocumented immigrants,” said Frey.
“I also deal with these situations in reality, not in hypotheticals. And a commitment was made to direct Minneapolis police to arrest federal agents. That would be dangerous. That would be irresponsible,” he added.
Fateh responded by reiterating his opposition to masked federal agents and criticizing the mayor’s handling of a federal raid in June on Lake Street, which was related to a drug and human trafficking investigation, not immigration.
A pro-Frey PAC published a clip of the debate exchange, saying Fateh “has floated some pretty ridiculous ideas for Minneapolis — but this one takes the cake.”
Omar Fateh has floated some pretty ridiculous ideas for Minneapolis — but this one takes the cake.
He’s pledged to direct the Minneapolis Police Department to arrest federal agents, a move that would put our entire community at risk.
At last night’s debate, Jacob Frey had a… pic.twitter.com/CkeaYj3iLC
— All of Mpls (@AllOfMpls) October 25, 2025
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said during a press conference Friday in St. Paul that “dozens of new agents and federal officers” will be deployed to the Twin Cities in the coming weeks.
The Minneapolis mayoral election is scheduled for Nov. 4. The city uses a ranked-choice voting system. Frey and Fateh, both Democrats, are viewed as the leading candidates.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
