Emilio César Rodríguez is a community organizer who’s passionate about immigration justice. He’s running for the Ward 3 seat to advocate for undocumented Minneapolis residents during a time when fears of deportation are hightened due to the Trump administration's policies.

Rodríguez was born in the Twin Cities but grew up in Dallas and often visited family in northeastern Mexico. He returned to Minneapolis as a University of Minnesota student, where he’s currently studying sociology. Rodríguez interned at the State Senate during the 2023 legislative session and worked on the North Star Act, a bill that would’ve made Minnesota a sanctuary state for immigrants lacking legal status.

For the past few years, Rodríguez has lived in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood, where he rents an apartment with his partner and their cat, Patricio.

This is the second installment of Downtown Voices’ interviews with Ward 3 and 7 candidates. Downtown Voices editor Brianna Kelly spoke with Rodríguez on April 25 at Inkwell Booksellers Co. in Northeast. The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

‍Brianna Kelly: What led to your decision to run for City Council?

Emilio Rodríguez: The threat of Trump's presidency was looming overhead for a long time. We knew what the consequences would be and what the likelihood of his victory would be, so we talked with our group of friends, we expanded our ‘kitchen cabinet,’ we got our campaign team up and running in September of last year, and then we announced in November, because we knew we don't have an option. This is a necessary moment to stand up and to speak and to try and fight for people in my life–people in all of our lives–who are very dear to us, and for our collective well-being.

‍BK: Why are you the right person to represent Ward 3?

‍ER: I think it would be my lived experience. I’ve organized at all three levels of government. I bring the experience as a young person and the son of immigrants–particularly now more than ever, that's really necessary. 

I’m a renter. I know what it’s like to be a student and be overwhelmed entirely. I've been at a point once where I worked three separate jobs at the same time. It's difficult to keep up with grades and keep up with all of my human needs.

And I'm really interested in local governance, particularly now, because local governance, local democracy, is the front line. You know, whether or not some people will lose their homes, whether or not people will have access to necessary healthcare. The city and our local government is precisely where that fight begins and where that fight ends.

BK: How would you juggle your studies and City Council duties if you were elected?

‍ER: Well, the City Council is a full-time job. If I win–hopefully we win–my studies will come back another time. This is what my focus is. This is what my goal is.

BK: What would your priorities be as the Ward 3 council member?

ER: We would love to continue the work of immigration justice. We say that Minneapolis is a sanctuary city, right? That means the city doesn’t work with ICE. We want to expand that a little more, expand protections and rights for immigrants. We want to see a sanctuary campus. The University (of Minnesota) should not be complicit in the atrocities committed by the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. 

We want to see DACA recipients, people who are under-documented, included in the City's social services.  We want to fight for the right to vote for non-citizens. We want to fight for coverage of the DACA fee. We want an immigration response board, something that can quickly disseminate information about ongoing or imminent ICE operations.

Fundamentally, a sanctuary city by our definition is one that ensures and protects human rights for all. When we uplift the needs of immigrants, whether they be renters or students or queer or small business owners or seniors, we uplift the well being of all Minneapolis residents. 

A true sanctuary city is one that provides housing, education, and basic human needs, so that’s our goal.

‍BK: What are your ideas for affordable housing?

ER: Minneapolis is seeing a lot of developers come in and build luxury apartments that are outside of the capabilities of local residents. It pushes people out. It makes housing unaffordable. 

We need rent stabilization. We’re asking for (a) 5% (annual cap on rent increases). We want to see vacancy decontrol, so if a tenant leaves their unit, the landlord can bring it up to market value afterwards. We also want to see more affordable housing being built. We want to incentivize development through the municipal version of an affordable housing tax credit.

BK: Do you think the City does enough to support small businesses?

ER: Yes and no. I think Minneapolis is a vibrant city for small businesses. But there’s more that could be done.

When you’re starting a new business, you meet a lot of hidden fees and upfront costs that you might not have expected. One thing that would help small businesses is actually building more public bathrooms. There is a fee for the sewer availability charge that's upwards of $2,000, where they have to build–because of the zoning requirements–a bathroom in their building. If we had more public bathrooms, that would take that responsibility off of small businesses.

We're seeing construction seasons right now. It’s heavy. It is hard. Cities need support when it’s harder to access them. We need more public transit as well, so that people can go from business to business and make it easier for people to get around the city.

Councilmember (Robin) Wonsely has been working on a municipal bank, which I think would be a great idea to provide financial services, lowered interest rates, support with leasing and rental costs for small businesses. We want to be there for them.

‍BK: How would you connect with and advocate for your constituents if you were elected?

ER: Well, that’s a good question. I think democracy is a very local action, so a campaign is not just going around the district asking for people to vote for you, and then that's it. It is a continuous process. It is continuously going into spaces, meeting people halfway.

I want to see more organizing for tenant and labor unions. I want to see more people getting out to City Hall for important issues. 

I want to be a voice for people. I’ve got my opinions and my views, but I want to listen and I want to hear things that I might disagree with. I want to think critically about the world around us and I love talking to new people. I love hearing new ideas. So, just trying to meet my neighbors and trying to talk to them about what's important.

BK: What are your thoughts on the state of public safety in Minneapolis?

ER: I would not say it's in a good state of affairs. Here's the thing, Minneapolis spends upwards of $200 million annually on the Minneapolis Police Department. On top of that, the City is still paying out civil lawsuits totaling in the hundreds of millions. This is a tremendous burden, right?

There have been efforts by some City Council members to introduce alternatives to policing. The behavioral crisis response team has been great, but it's not receiving the support we need.

Policing has a systemic fault, and I’m tired of seeing council members continuing to push for more policing. We've tried reform, it hasn't worked. I would say that public safety needs to be focused more heavily through alternative solutions as well.

It's heartbreaking to hear about stories like Davis Morturi who was shot (by his neighbor) despite calling for help from the police and Allison Lussier who was killed in a domestic abuse situation after she had called for the police help repeatedly. Community safety in Minneapolis does not prioritize the needs of people of color, of women or female presenting individuals, and we need that to change. We need community safety for everyone.

Downtown Voices also interviewed the two other Ward 3 candidates: Marcus Mills and Michael Rainville. Our election tracker is keeping tabs on everyone in the mayoral and City Council races.

‍The League of Women Voters Minneapolis is hosting a Ward 3 candidate forum on Sept. 18 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in Graco Park's River Hub, located at 810 Sibley St. NE.