Over the past few months, Minnesota has experienced an unprecedented crisis around immigration enforcement strategies and tactics, leaving incalculable damage to our communities in their wake.

Despite the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s announcement today to end “Operation Metro Surge,” this crisis isn’t over. The harmful impacts have touched immigrant communities, businesses — specifically in the hospitality and construction sectors — and so many others connected to social services, schools and churches.

The after-effects on our community will show up in multiple ways. Of primary concern is the trauma that has been perpetuated on our immigrant families, particularly children. We’ve already seen increases in food insecurity, requests for rental assistance, decreased school attendance and an absence of workers in several of our business sectors. We now expect an economic ripple effect will grow in the coming months from rental evictions, construction delays that will drive higher costs, and permanent restaurant and small business closures.

In my last message to the community in mid-January, I mentioned Eden Prairie had convened a group of 15 mayors, city managers and police chiefs to project a unified voice of action to address the chaos occurring in our cities. From that meeting, a coalition of over 20 suburban cities has been working together with an initial goal of contributing to ending the surge. With today’s announcement, our focus will now turn to confronting the damage done to our communities. This will entail rebuilding relationships of trust and hope with our immigrant communities and working with our non-profits to support our safety net of services for those in need.

I am deeply grateful to all who stepped up to help their neighbors during this difficult period. Whether donating food or money, delivering groceries to families fearful of leaving their homes or protecting immigrant children and their families, you have put words of love and hope into action. I encourage you to continue these efforts as we work to recover in the coming weeks and months. And I also hope you’ll join me in expressing gratitude to our police officers who have consistently served our community with profound empathy and professionalism.

Our City may be 65,000-strong today, but our response to these events shows we have the passion of a small-town community who looks out for every last neighbor in a time of crisis. Eden Prairie has proven itself to be a community full of compassion, combined with a strong commitment to the values that run deep in our immigrant roots as a nation. I could not be prouder to serve as your mayor as I am today.

With much gratitude,

Mayor Ron Case