As the federal government shutdown enters its forth week, the Cultural & Ethnic Communities Leadership Council (CECLC) convened its second Community Legislative Summit with the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) to bring urgent focus to how federal disruptions are affecting Minnesota’s cultural and ethnic communities.
The Summit — held Tuesday, October 21 from noon to 4:00 PM at the NorthPoint Conference Center — united community leaders and DHS officials to identify priorities for the upcoming 2026 legislative session. These priorities are now critically shaped by cascading impacts of federal funding disruptions, immigration policy changes, and enforcement actions.
1) Federal Crisis, Local Impact
Community leaders came to the summit carrying grave concerns.
Nutrition & safety‐net disruption: Nearly 42 million Americans receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits face potential loss of food assistance starting November 1 if the shutdown continues; in Minnesota, families are already anxious about how they will feed their children — especially immigrant and refugee communities who rely disproportionately on nutrition assistance.- Health & refugee/resettlement services under pressure: Federally-funded refugee resettlement programs and immigrant assistance rely on federal funds in coordination with state agencies. For example, Minnesota’s DHS Resettlement Programs Office provides federally-funded services for families under humanitarian protection. Meanwhile, new SNAP and other eligibility restrictions could affect an estimated 1.4 million legally-present immigrants (including refugees and asylees) who could lose subsidized health coverage under recent federal legislation.
- Arts, heritage & youth programming threatened: The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) are facing proposed eliminations, deep funding cuts — which puts numerous Minnesota arts organizations that serve cultural and ethnic communities at immediate risk.
- Immigration enforcement escalation: Meanwhile, federal immigration-enforcement efforts are ramping up significantly. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) budget has increased dramatically over recent years and is slated for a massive infusion of new funding (e.g., legislation that would raise ICE’s budget to unprecedented levels of enforcement, detention capacity, and deportation operations).
For Minnesota’s diverse immigrant and refugee communities, this means increased fear, risk of disruption of family stability, and fewer resources for support rather than enforcement.
A shutdown could also delay immigration-court hearings and processing of cases, which creates uncertainty for newcomers, asylum-seekers, and families.
2) Centering Community Voices
The CECLC Community Legislative Summit served as a collaborative space where DHS intentionally centered the voices of Minnesota’s diverse cultural and ethnic communities — making sure their needs and values shape the agency’s legislative priorities. This year’s discussions took on heightened urgency as participants worked to identify state-level responses to federal program disruptions, immigration enforcement shifts, and funding gaps.
Community leaders brought unique insights about how federal cuts and enforcement changes compound existing disparities. Through facilitated discussions, CECLC members and DHS officials identified potential state legislative proposals to:
- Fill federal gaps by strengthening Minnesota’s safety net for cultural and ethnic communities (nutrition, health, resettlement, cultural heritage, etc.) so the state can act even when federal policy changes.
- Embed community voice and cultural responsiveness in state-funded programs so that they are resilient in times of federal disruption or enforcement escalation.
- Protect refugee and immigrant families by: increasing voices among ethnic media; state support for immigrant and refugee resettlement programs; ensuring state policies don’t replicate federal enforcement harms; and ensuring that immigrant/resettled youth are not caught in cross-currents of funding cuts or enforcement fear.
As participants departed, the message was clear: Minnesota’s cultural and ethnic communities refuse to be collateral damage in federal budget or immigration enforcement fights. The CECLC Community Legislative Summit transformed concern into actions, ensuring that diverse voices will shape the state’s response to a national crisis that threatens the health, security, dignity, and stability of millions
