The state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are suing the federal government to stop an enforcement surge by Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE officer.
The state and cities filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday, along with a request for a temporary restraining order to halt the enforcement action or limit the operation. It was announced by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Vang Her.
“The unlawful deployment of thousands of armed, masked, and poorly trained federal agents is hurting Minnesota,” said Attorney General Ellison. “People are being racially profiled, harassed, terrorized, and assaulted. Schools have gone into lockdown. Businesses have been forced to close. Minnesota police are spending countless hours dealing with the chaos ICE is causing. This federal invasion of the Twin Cities has to stop, so today I am suing DHS to bring it to an end.”
The Department of Homeland Security says it’s surging more than 2,000 immigration officers into Minnesota, and that it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the city since the push began last month. ICE has called the Minnesota surge its largest enforcement operation ever.
"We allege that the surge reckless impact on our schools, on our local law enforcement, is a violation of the 10th Amendment, and the sovereign laws and powers of the Constitution grants to states," Ellison notes.
The 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution establishes, "the principle of federalism by stating that any powers not specifically given to the federal government, nor withheld from the states, are reserved for those states, or the people themselves."
Essentially, it reinforces that the federal government only has the powers listed in the Constitution, and all other powers belong to the states or citizens, which Ellison and the lawsuit alleges the federal government is violating with the surge of ICE into the state.
"We asked the courts to end the DHS unlawful behavior in our state, the intimidation, the threats, the violence," adds Ellison. "We asked the courts to end the tactics on our places of worship, our schools, our courts, our marketplaces, our hospitals, and even funeral homes."
The lawsuit also alleges that Operation Metro Surge violates federal law because it’s arbitrary and capricious, since it says other states aren’t seeing commensurate crackdowns.
"We are not asking not to do things. We are asking this federal government to stop the unconstitutional conduct that is invading our streets each and every day," added Mayor Frey.
While the Trump administration says it’s about fighting fraud, the lawsuit says ICE agents have no expertise in combatting fraud in government programs.
The lawsuit says the federal government is really targeting Minnesota over politics, which it says is a violation of the First Amendment.
“Minneapolis didn’t ask for this operation, but we’re paying the price,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. “When federal actions undermine public safety, harm our neighbors, and violate constitutional rights, we have a responsibility to act. That’s exactly what we’re doing today.”
According to the lawsuit: "The State and the cities seek an end to Operation Metro Surge and the deployments of thousands of DHS agents to Minnesota, as well as an end to the unlawful behaviors of DHS agents within the state, including but not limited to":
- Arresting, threatening, and using force against innocent bystanders
- Using force against individuals peacefully engaging in constitutionally protected speech
- Pointing firearms at individuals who pose no threat to DHS agents
- Carrying out enforcement actions at sensitive locations like schools, churches, hospitals.
“Federal law enforcement’s occupation of our city is putting us all at risk,” said St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her. “They've come into Saint Paul and needlessly invaded our neighborhoods and homes; they’re targeting us based on what we look and sound like. Our residents are scared, and as local officials, we have a responsibility to act. Today we’re standing side by side with Minneapolis and the Attorney General to fight back.”
Her, who said her grandparents came to the U.S. in the 1970s, says racial profiling by ICE is causing chaos in the Twin Cities.
"I wasn't born here. I'm carrying my ID and passport card all the time because I don't know when I'm going to be detained, when I'm going to be approached," she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.