02/06/2026
I want to thank the hundreds of residents who have called, emailed, texted, and met with me intensely over the past month. I am grateful for your shared commitment to New Brighton and your innovative ideas, passionate advocacy, and concerned questions about immigration enforcement actions in our city and the surrounding region. As I have said at council meetings, I passionately share those concerns and it’s why I have been focusing on talking with you AND making sure our city’s trusted response, strategic actions, and clear communication gets nailed down and increased. This post from City of New Brighton is an example of that work.
My commitment to you of transparency and community engagement has required my advocacy to get us to today, and required direct communication with residents who have contacted me. I am grateful for our city staff who are partnering with the city council. These are not normal times so therefore, we must rise up and do our work as a city differently and we are.
When I first became mayor in 2021, through today, I promised to be and I have been accessible to our residents and businesses. In the pandemic, I had regularly scheduled Zoom calls, and a regular schedule of in-person (masked) meetings. Residents transitioned out of the pandemic by wanting more 1:1 conversations so that is what I have done since.
I know now that people are fearful, stressed, and exhausted from immigration enforcement tactics that are eroding the trust in public safety and undermining the foundation of community safety. I have heard from you that more communal conversations would be valuable—people want to see their neighbors and to talk; I am IN.
As a community organizer (at heart and formerly professionally) I especially love to meet with people in-person, so I am restarting group Mayor Coffee Convos; join me tomorrow, Sat, 2/7 at 1 pm at Limu Coffee.
To meet people how they prefer, I am also restarting regular Zoom meetings. Join me on Monday, 2/9 at 7 pm (see the link in the event pinned to the top of this page).
I will post more dates (and links) for in-person and virtual meetings this weekend.
I will continue to give anyone 1:1 time. My email and dedicated mayor cell phone are on my page; I have focused on encouraging our residents to follow our city’s social media channels so please reshare those posts—that is the most important channel to see official city info and actions. I look forward to continually creating our inclusive community we have built together. Our immigrant families and communities of color need us, and I want to thank you for you also rising to meet this moment. Our city’s leadership in creating a welcoming community is because we all care for one another.
New Brighton continues to update and expand the resources available on our Immigration Resources page. We are committed to sharing timely, reliable information that residents can easily access in one place.
We are also sharing the new graphic below, which directs people to the City’s website and highlights key resource areas, constitutional rights, and how to find support. Please help us share this graphic widely by forwarding to neighbors, friends, or family who may have questions or need support.
Visit the page to see the latest updates and available resources: https://www.newbrightonmn.gov/696/Immigration-Resources
