More than 80 Minnesotans detail use-of-force, intimidation by ICE agents in lawsuit
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In a new court filing, dozens of Minnesotans are sharing their experiences of violent interactions with ICE agents during the surge.
A class-action lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota added sworn declarations from more than 80 observers or protesters who allege First Amendment violations.
The eye-witness accounts were filed in federal court on Friday. It alleges instances of federal immigration agents indiscriminately using chemical irritants, less-lethal munitions or physical force against protesters or observers documenting ICE actions. Several people also said they were intimidated by federal agents that they were following when the agents led them to their own homes, or knew other personal information.
ACLU of Minnesota says its collected more than 700 reports of constitutional violations, with 200 of those in the last two weeks.
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“We're going to continue to collect these instances and collect reports of ICE misconduct and ICE constitutional violations, as long as the agents are in the state,” said ACLU of MN policy counsel John Boehler.
The initial lawsuit was filed on behalf of six Minnesotans who said they were detained or threatened by federal agents while lawfully observing ICE operations. Five more people have been added, including The NewsGuild-CWA, the largest labor union representing journalists and media professionals and independent news outlet Status Coup News.
DHS has not filed any response to the newly added declarations.
This isn’t the only lawsuit ACLU of Minnesota is a part of. Lawyers will be in court Tuesday as part of a class-action alleging incidents of racial profiling as part of immigration enforcement. Lawyers argue that Mubashir Khalif Hussen, 20, was profiled when he was detained by ICE in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis on Dec. 10. Hussen is Somali and a U.S. citizen.
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