As federal agents clash with Minneapolis residents, battle over ICE surge heats up in court filings
As residents in the Twin Cities protest in the streets against ICE and federal immigration enforcement actions, Minnesota's battle against the federal surge is also playing out in the federal court system.
One lawsuit by the ACLU has already resulted in a federal judge, Kate Menendez, issuing an order restricting what ICE agents can do when confronting peaceful protestors.
The judge's order says there can be no ICE retaliation against protestors, no detaining people without probable cause unless they are obstructing agents or committing a crime, no using pepper spray on a peaceful protest, and allowing drivers to follow ICE agents' vehicles at a safe distance. On "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" this Sunday morning, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the order changes nothing about how federal agents are conducting their business in Minnesota.
Another development is that the U.S. Justice Department has opened criminal investigations into Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for allegedly obstructing the work of federal agents.
Appearing on WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy, Attorney General Keith Ellison called this latter investigation "from the playbook."
"This is the president who is persecuting Jerome Powell of the Fed, who tried to prosecute James Comey of the FBI, and the current attorney general of New York, Letitia James. He uses the criminal justice system to persecute the people he doesn't like," Ellison said.
The second federal lawsuit against ICE was filed late last week by the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. It seeks to stop ICE activity throughout the state. The lawsuit argues the unprecedented surge of an estimated 3,000 federal agents is endangering citizens. It accuses ICE of violating the First and Tenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
That lawsuit argues that President Trump is retaliating against Gov. Tim Walz, who ran against Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' ticket, for his objections to ICE activity.
"What the federal government needs to do is leave and stop the surge," Ellison said.
The Tenth Amendment protects states' sovereignty and limits federal powers to those granted in the U.S. Constitution. It provides autonomy to the states in issues like education, elections and public safety. While Ellison is optimistic, some legal experts think the lawsuit is a long shot because it would be similar to telling the FBI it could not operate in the state.
The state, in this second lawsuit, is seeking an immediate temporary restraining order limiting ICE activities. The judge in the case is Kate Menendez, the same judge who issued that first order favorable to peaceful protestors. The judge said last week she would not issue the temporary restraining order until she heard a response from the federal government. That response is due to be filed at 5 p.m. Monday, which is the federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.