Minnesota sues Trump administration to block immigration agents deployment
The US state of Minnesota filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to prevent the influx of federal immigration agents into the state.
The lawsuit argues that the deployment amounts to an unconstitutional “federal invasion.” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the immigration crackdown has disrupted the lives of millions of people and led to “chaos and violence.”
This comes after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot by an immigration agent in Minneapolis last week, sparking major protests in the city.
The lawsuit asks the federal court to declare the deployment illegal. The Trump administration called the legal action “baseless.” It also promised to significantly increase its deployment in the region.
The administration said the agents targeted undocumented immigrants and that other agents were needed to ensure their safety during the operations.
At a press conference announcing the legal challenge Monday, Ellison said the deployment violated the state’s “sovereign authority to protect the health and well-being of every person living within our borders.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey alleged that agents illegally targeted people they thought were immigrants based on racial profiling. He said his actions led to an increase in calls to 911 and forced city police to work overtime to investigate Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)-related incidents.
“The illegal deployment of thousands of armed, masked and inadequately trained federal agents is harming Minnesota,” Ellison said.
He accused the Trump administration of “oppressing the state of Minnesota because of our political views.” Democrats currently hold the governorship and control the state legislature.
“Keith Ellison made clear today that he prioritizes politics over public safety,” Tricia McLaughlin of the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. he said.
“This is a baseless lawsuit and we look forward to proving it in court.”
During the news conference, prosecutors said they would seek to get a court to issue a temporary restraining order to block the deployment as early as Tuesday.
This comes after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced plans to send more agents to the state as part of Operation Metro Surge.
The ministry says this deployment is necessary to combat illegal immigration and crime. According to recent estimates, approximately 2,000 agents have been deployed to Minnesota.
Over the weekend, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News that “hundreds” of immigration agents would be deployed to the area “to allow our ICE and Border Patrol employees who work in Minneapolis to do so safely.”
About 1,000 U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents were sent to Minneapolis, CNN reported, citing two federal law enforcement sources.
The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago filed a similar lawsuit Monday against what it called an “organized bombardment” and “invasion” by federal immigration officials.
“Uniformed, military-trained personnel carrying semi-automatic firearms and military-grade weapons have been attacking Chicago and surrounding areas for months,” the Illinois lawsuit states.
Good’s shooting last week sparked fierce debate about federal law enforcement operations in U.S. cities. Federal authorities allege the 37-year-old woman was trying to run over immigration officials with her car when she was shot. Local authorities disputed this and said the shooting was not necessary.
The FBI said it would investigate the attack. Local officials say they are excluded from the federal investigation.
