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Minneapolis council debates liquor licenses for hotels housing ICE agents
The Minneapolis City Council on Tuesday debated liquor licenses for two hotels, Canopy and The Depot, after they allegedly hosted ICE agents during Operation Metro Surge. FOX 9's Karen Scullin has the story.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Despite a push by some Minneapolis City Council members threatening not to renew the liquor licenses of two Minneapolis hotels for allegedly housing ICE agents during Operation Metro Surge, the council as a whole has voted for their approval.
Minneapolis hotel licenses renewed
What we know:
Both the Canopy and the Depot were set for liquor license approvals before the council’s Committee of the Whole, when debate arose regarding whether both could be denied renewals in the wake of the allegations that created several protests among Minneapolis residents.
Several council members on the committee expressed interest in not renewing the liquor licenses in an attempt to be retroactively punitive toward the establishments for allegedly housing ICE agents. Renewals are required 30 days prior to expiration to avoid any lapses.
Backtracking on their threat to not renew licenses, the council ultimately approved both by a vote of 8 to 5 on Thursday.
Dig deeper:
Council records show that a deeper review of the hotels' licenses began on Jan. 28, 2026, which included security plans and public comment.
The investigation found that Canopy had no ordinance strikes against it, or outstanding labor standards violations. Meanwhile, the Depot similarly had no recent code violations, but had failed a youth alcohol compliance check on Feb. 15, 2025, but passed a re-check on March 25, 2025.
A review of 911 and 311 calls for both locations between December 2025 and February 2026 found no drastic uptick in reports, other than one to each hotel for snow/ice removal on a sidewalk and bike lane. A review of public comment found 10 submissions were in favor of renewal, while 10 were in favor of denial.
What they're saying:
"Doing an investigation and having due process is really important. I don't think it's right for us to have so many constituents reach out about safety concerns regarding these two hotels and for us to just proceed as business as usual," council member Aurin Chowdhury said prior to the vote. "It feels clear to me that we got testimony about workers feeling unsafe due to alleged ICE agents presence. I think there's a greater conversation to be had about hotel licensing."
Chowdhury mentioned claims of unsecured weapons in hotels being raised, but staff noted those concerns did not fall under the purview of liquor licensing.
"This isn't about a liquor license, and it never was. Let's not conflate due process that's not the format of liquor licensing issues. When we have safety concerns in hotels, our highly capable regulatory services staff investigates," said council member Linea Palmisano. "This was never about a liquor license."
"We have laws to follow in the city of Minneapolis. We must follow legal process in our city," said council member Jamal Osman, while motioning to approve the renewal. "Even though it's very uncomfortable to have ICE agents in our city… We have to show that we are doing the right thing, and we are the ones following the laws. We have to be the bigger person, and appreciate the businesses in our community. But I would encourage them to be careful who they are hosting."
What's next:
City staff ultimately recommended the renewal of both hotels' on-sale liquor licenses without conditions, while noting all concerns raised were related to the hotel's occupancy, and not its liquor licensing.
Staff also noted that its business licensing department would continue to monitor for potential complaints and code violations.
Those that voted to deny the licenses regardless included council members Chughtai, Chavez, Payne, Chowdhury and Wonsley.