Liberian man arrested in Minneapolis raid was regularly checking in with authorities, lawyer says
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Liberian man arrested over the weekend after heavily armed immigration agents used a battering ram to break down the front door of his house in Minneapolis. The suspect has been meeting regularly with federal authorities for years, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Garrison Gibson, 37, arrested during Department of Homeland Security Minnesota immigration raid largest sanctions operation Attorney Marc Prokosch said this incident was a “clear constitutional violation” because the agents did not have a proper search warrant.
Sunday’s arrest took place in a city that has become increasingly tense after a while. Immigration officer shot dead 37 years old Renee Good Waves of angry protests and clashes between authorities and activists began last week.
“This was an absolutely illegal search,” Prokosch said, because the agents had introduced an administrative order that only allowed someone to be arrested but did not allow officers to break into private homes. Forcible entry requires a criminal warrant signed by a judge.
Gibson, who fled the Liberian civil war as a child, was apparently ordered removed from the United States because he was convicted of a 2008 drug crime that was later overruled by the courts. But he remained in the country legally under an order known as a control order, on the condition that he meet regularly with immigration authorities.
Just days before his arrest, Gibson had met with immigration officials at regional immigration offices, the building where agents have conducted police raids in recent weeks.
“He would check in again a few months later,” Prokosch said. “So if he’s so dangerous, why do they let him wander around?
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said earlier this week that Gibson has “a lengthy criminal record that includes robbery, drug possession with intent to sell, possession of a deadly weapon, malicious destruction and theft.” He did not specify whether these were arrests, charges or convictions.
McLaughlin did not respond to questions about whether the agents’ use of force was justified.
But court records show Gibson’s legal history, which is dominated by several traffic violations, minor drug arrests and an arrest for taking public transportation without paying, has only one crime; A 2008 conviction for third-degree sale of narcotics was later thrown out.
Prokosch said Gibson was flown to Texas by immigration authorities within hours of his arrest, then quickly returned to Minnesota on a judge’s order after the attorney filed a lawsuit. habeas corpus Petition used by courts to determine whether imprisonment is legal. The courts have not yet ruled on the application.
Gibson is currently being held at an immigration detention center in Albert Lea, Minnesota, after being held at a large camp at the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas. According to ICE’s detainee locator.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to an email from The Associated Press with follow-up questions about the Gibson case.
Guns, activists and pepper spray
Prokosch said that Gibson’s wife, Teyana Gibson Brown, a nurse who was at home with the couple’s 9-year-old child during the raid, was deeply shaken by the arrest.
During their conversation, he said, “he was having difficulty completing the sentences because he was so distraught.”
Activists who spied on immigration agents before Gibson’s arrest beat drums, blew whistles, and honked car horns in an attempt to disrupt the operation and warn neighbors; Some took to the streets.
Video taken by AP at the scene shows agents pushing demonstrators and using pepper spray.
Twin Cities — final destination President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign has been rocked by the killing of Good, who was shot during a confrontation with agents on Jan. 7.
The Trump administration defended the officer who shot Good in his car, saying he was protecting himself and his fellow agents and “weaponized” Good’s vehicle.
City and state officials dismissed these explanations based on videos of confrontation.
State and local officials are urging the public to: sharing video and other evidence While trying to investigate Good’s death after federal authorities insisted they would work on their own and not share information.
There have been more than 2,000 immigration arrests in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began in early December, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News over the weekend that the administration would send additional federal agents to the state to protect immigration officers and maintain enforcement.
—
AP reporter Elliot Spagat contributed to this report from San Diego.
