Minneapolis council debates liquor licenses for hotels allegedly housing ICE agents

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Two prominent Minneapolis hotels, the Canopy and the Depot, are at the center of a heated debate over their liquor license renewals.

City council hearing debates investigation

What we know:

Some Minneapolis council members are pushing to deny the liquor licenses for the Canopy and the Depot hotels. The controversy stems from allegations that these hotels allowed federal agents to stay during Operation Metro Surge.

Wade Luneburg, a resident of Ward 3, expressed, "We believe that a liquor license is a privilege and that that privilege should be reserved for businesses who keep the public safety in mind."

City Council Member Aurin Chowdhury questioned whether due process should be followed to investigate the concerns raised by constituents.

Protests outside hotels

The backstory:

Over the past few weeks, protests have taken place outside hotels alleged to have housed ICE agents. The city council committee of the whole met to decide if an investigation should delay the vote for renewal.

Quinn O'Reilly, city attorney, stated, "As we've advised previously, there needs to be a connection between the licensed activity and the identified concerns."

Some argued that denying the licenses could lead to unwanted consequences, including impacts on workers.

"So the truth is, there has been loss of business at these hotels. People have canceled because of the threat of losing their license. So that has happened. Reduction of hours has happened as well as layoffs are planned," said council member Michael Rainville.

What we don't know:

The outcome of the upcoming vote on Thursday regarding the liquor license renewals for the Canopy and the Depot hotels.