We must pause the Rethinking I-94 project now.

Minnesota is facing a federal occupation that is terrorizing our neighborhoods, especially our most vulnerable and marginalized communities. Everyday neighbors are joining activists, faith organizations, and non-profits in legal observation to keep their neighbors safe. When people can’t go to school, work, or even the doctor safely, we cannot expect business as usual. While there was an announcement of the "surge" supposedly concluding, this is just another tactic of deflection from the present realities. Our most vulnerable communities are still under threat of kidnappings, eviction, lost wages, and long-term health impacts from being terrorized. People just don’t have the bandwidth, and safety is not guaranteed. That includes engaging with decisions on major transportation projects.

If the Minnesota Department of Transportation wants true community input on its Rethinking I-94 recommendations, the agency must pause the project. The Rethinking I-94 project public comment period started on January 6, 2026, a day before Renee Good was murdered. Minnesotans have felt the impact and escalation of this emergency since I.C.E. agents first walked our streets. There has been no eviction moratorium from Governor Walz, no state legislative vote defunding the agency, and no financial help for the businesses struggling because of the federal presence here. With no end date and only uncertainty, we cannot ask the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the outcome of the Rethinking I-94 project to thoughtfully engage with the public comment period. If business continues as usual, public comments will only come from the most privileged. We must uplift marginalized voices, especially those that have historically been ignored in large transportation projects such as highway construction.

In addition to the federal occupation, the current federal administration has undermined cornerstone processes for environmental review, grant programs, formula funding, and the priorities underpinning these policies. Specifically, these changes include:

• Eliminating NEPA implementation standards across 85 federal agencies, creating legal confusion and uncertainty as agencies scramble to adapt to new, weaker review processes, and raising questions about compliance with state laws like MEPA

• Pausing, revoking, or clawing back federal infrastructure funding for projects and priorities like safe streets, multi-modal transit, biking and walking infrastructure, and community-centered approaches to planning and neighborhood reconnection

• Shifting policy, planning, and funding priorities ahead of the next federal surface transportation reauthorization, where states can expect significantly less formula funding and fewer grant opportunities to support diverse transportation needs and programs

• Stripping language on Environmental Justice, community livability and well-being, climate change, and other priorities from federal programs and processes, making it impossible to advance projects centered on these values within federal frameworks. This has already been done by MnDOT on the Rethinking I-94 and Highway 252 projects.

• Targeting states and localities with lawsuits and threats for pursuing bold transportation solutions like congestion pricing, major transit projects, and highway alternatives

What a Pause Accomplishes

1. Preserves state sovereignty over transportation decisions affecting our communities

2. Protects community vision from federal interference and dilution

3. Avoids wasting resources on a federal process unlikely to yield funding or acceptable outcomes

4. Maintains flexibility to pursue state-led alternatives or re-engage with a potentially supportive future federal administration

5. Demonstrates leadership by refusing to compromise Minnesota values for uncertain federal dollars

6. Prevents locking in bad decisions that would constrain the corridor for decades

A pause is a strategic protection of our state's interests and our communities' vision. It positions Minnesota to act when conditions allow us to actually deliver what our residents need, rather than what a hostile federal administration will permit.