Wisconsin Joins Minnesota Lawsuit Against ICE

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Public Domain).

The state of Wisconsin has joined a legal action arguing the Trump administration is violating state sovereignty with its massive surge of federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents in Minneapolis.

Earlier this month, the State of Minnesota filed a lawsuit in federal court against DHS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) for sending a massive force of federal immigration officers into Minneapolis, which has spread fear, violated constitutional rights, disrupted daily life and killed U.S. citizens, the suit charged. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul signed a briefing in support of the lawsuit.

“Wisconsin stands with our neighbors across the river in Minnesota,” Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement Monday. “American citizens are having their rights and freedoms violated and are being put in unsafe and life-threatening situations in their own communities. Two have already lost their lives. It has to stop.”

The lawsuit, which was filed after an ICE agent shot and killed Minneapolis resident Renee Good, asks the court to order the federal government to stop unlawfully arresting and detaining U.S. citizens; threatening force and brandishing weapons against non-violent protestors and onlookers; and allowing federal agents to wear masks and conceal their identity. It also asks the court to force agents to wear body cameras.

The lawsuit, and Wisconsin’s brief in support were both filed before CBP agents shot and killed Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti on Saturday, Jan. 24.

The filing signed by Kaul and nearly 20 other attorneys general argues the federal agents are routinely breaking the law in Minnesota and threatening the U.S. system of federalism, which splits power between the states and the federal government, ensuring “no single entity gains absolute control over all aspects of daily life.”

The federal immigration action called “Operation Metro Surge” began in December in the wake of a state fraud scandal involving some members of the Somali community in Minnesota, which was amplified by right-wing media, Republican politicians and the White House. President Donald Trump called Somali immigrants and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) “garbage” and said, “I don’t want ’em in our country.” In January, the administration expanded the operation, sending 2,000 agents into the city to carry out the “largest immigration operation” ever.

“Under the claimed auspices of carrying out immigration enforcement, the federal government has seriously undermined state and local authorities and made it impossible for the public to go about their day-to-day activities because they fear being stopped, tear gassed, or worse,” the parties said in the court filing supporting Minnesota’s suit. “If left unchecked, the federal government will no doubt be emboldened to continue its unlawful conduct in Minnesota and to repeat it elsewhere.”

As of the Jan. 22 filing by Kaul and other attorneys general, there were more than 3,000 federal agents in Minneapolis, exceeding the number of local law enforcement in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, according to the filing. Resources for policing and emergency response are being diverted away from typical duties to respond to the chaos unleashed by the federal surge, according to the briefing. Citizens are being illegally stopped and detained solely on the basis of their skin color; children, including a six-month old child have been tear gassed by federal agents; and education is being disrupted by school closures after DHS agents targeted schools, arresting teachers and releasing chemical agents.

“Defendants’ extreme and unlawful conduct is ripping at the fabric of our society,” the suit states. “Every aspect of daily life for Minnesotans is being affected.”

Wisconsin and other states argue they have an interest in seeing the court stop the federal operation in Minnesota.

If the courts do not stop the federal operation, their lawsuit warned, “there is no telling how much more terror and chaos Defendants will inflict on Minnesota, its cities, and their communities in the coming days and months. Tomorrow, without legal intervention, the federal government will no doubt threaten other States and local communities across the nation.”