Expert: Gov. Walz 'cautious' with eviction moratorium decision given legal, political factors

Advocates are scrambling to raise money for rent for the month of March that's due in just a few days. It's for the families that are still in hiding and are losing income from the Minnesota ICE surge. A coalition of unions in Minnesota is calling for a rent strike in solidarity with those families starting March 1, and many others are asking Governor Tim Walz to enact an eviction moratorium and rent relief payments for people unable to work during the surge of federal agents in the state. Advocates said they have crowdsourced hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the people in hiding, but that it is not sustainable for the long term.

Governor Walz said that he can't enact a statewide eviction moratorium without declaring a peacetime emergency. And so far, he has been unwilling to make that move. Professor Larry Jacobs, the founder and director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, joined MPR News host Nina Moini for a conversation about what’s at play in the governor’s decision making.