Judge hears arguments to halt immigration enforcement activity in Minnesota
A man, center left, next to a Minneapolis police officer grabs a protester in the doorway during a noise demonstration protest in response to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city Sunday, in Minneapolis.
Adam Gray | AP
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Audio transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] NINA MOINI: Our top story on Minnesota Now, all morning, a federal judge has been hearing arguments on whether to temporarily halt immigration enforcement activity in the state. MPR news reporter, Estelle Timar-Wilcox has been listening to the hearing. She joins me with the latest. Thanks for your time, Estelle.
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Hi, Nina.
NINA MOINI: There are several ongoing lawsuits related to this immigration enforcement operation. Tell us what the court is hearing this morning.
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah, this hearing this morning is in a lawsuit brought by the state and Minneapolis and St. Paul against the federal government. They're asking for a blanket stop to this immigration operation, or at least a temporary one. And basically, they're saying the federal government is overstepping its bounds and violating the state's constitutional right to govern itself. Attorneys with the US Department of Justice have called this frivolous and said this operation is within the federal government's right to enforce immigration law.
And what the state wants to get out of this is a temporary restraining order stopping this current surge of agents, bringing levels of ICE enforcement back down to what they were before this particular operation started in December. And this hearing started this morning at 9:00. They just went into recess about 15 minutes ago after hearing from attorneys on both sides. Federal judge, Katherine Menendez, says she's not sure when she-- or she didn't say when she plans to issue a ruling. But she said she's juggling some constitutional questions here and wants to consider it really carefully. And attorneys for the state are urged her to issue an order soon, since the situation is so tense.
NINA MOINI: The federal government has the right to enforce immigration. But why does the state say this particular operation is overstepping?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Well, first, they're arguing it's overwhelming state resources. They said police have seen an uptick in 911 calls as people call for help related to federal immigration operations. Schools have reported lower attendance rates. Some hospitals and clinics say federal agents inside are scaring people and interfering with care. And of course, now we've also seen three shootings of local residents by federal agents, two of those fatal. And in addition to that argument that it's overwhelming state resources, attorneys also say the federal government is essentially using this operation to coerce the state to change its immigration enforcement practices.
Lawyers for the state this morning pointed to a letter from US Attorney General Pam Bondi sent to Governor Tim Walz this weekend, in which she asks for access to state records on residents and also said the state needs to end what she calls sanctuary policies. That's those policies that limit local law enforcement from collaborating with immigration enforcement. The state says that's also unconstitutional and violates the state's rights to make its own laws.
NINA MOINI: And this is one of several lawsuits in progress, again, over this current immigration operation. There's another hearing in federal court this afternoon. What can we expect out of that?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah, that's a hearing scheduled at 2:00 in a separate case. The state and Hennepin County attorneys are asking the federal government to preserve evidence related to Saturday's shooting of Alex Pretti. Federal officials have started that investigation into the shooting. But state officials have not yet been able to see that evidence. A federal judge issued an order in this case on Saturday blocking the Trump administration from destroying or altering any of that evidence. And we'll hear more about this at the hearing this afternoon.
NINA MOINI: So while officials wait for those court rulings, what is next for the federal government's operation here? Do you have a sense for that?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Well, we've gotten a little bit of word on this this morning. President Trump announced that he's sending border czar, Tom Homan, to the state to oversee ICE operations and report directly back to the president. He's expected to get in tonight. Trump and Walz also said this morning that they had a phone call about the operation, which Trump categorized as quote, "very good." He said he's on the same page with the governor about toning down tension. Walz called the talk productive and said he pushed Trump to decrease the presence of federal law enforcement here and also to let federal let local law enforcement investigate the shootings in Minneapolis. And according to Walz, Trump agreed to take those requests to his administration. That's the first time they've talked to each other about this operation after a tense couple of weeks and the two trading insults back and forth.
NINA MOINI: All right, Estelle. Thanks for that update.
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: You're welcome, Nina.
NINA MOINI: That's MPR News reporter, Estelle Timar-Wilcox.
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Hi, Nina.
NINA MOINI: There are several ongoing lawsuits related to this immigration enforcement operation. Tell us what the court is hearing this morning.
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah, this hearing this morning is in a lawsuit brought by the state and Minneapolis and St. Paul against the federal government. They're asking for a blanket stop to this immigration operation, or at least a temporary one. And basically, they're saying the federal government is overstepping its bounds and violating the state's constitutional right to govern itself. Attorneys with the US Department of Justice have called this frivolous and said this operation is within the federal government's right to enforce immigration law.
And what the state wants to get out of this is a temporary restraining order stopping this current surge of agents, bringing levels of ICE enforcement back down to what they were before this particular operation started in December. And this hearing started this morning at 9:00. They just went into recess about 15 minutes ago after hearing from attorneys on both sides. Federal judge, Katherine Menendez, says she's not sure when she-- or she didn't say when she plans to issue a ruling. But she said she's juggling some constitutional questions here and wants to consider it really carefully. And attorneys for the state are urged her to issue an order soon, since the situation is so tense.
NINA MOINI: The federal government has the right to enforce immigration. But why does the state say this particular operation is overstepping?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Well, first, they're arguing it's overwhelming state resources. They said police have seen an uptick in 911 calls as people call for help related to federal immigration operations. Schools have reported lower attendance rates. Some hospitals and clinics say federal agents inside are scaring people and interfering with care. And of course, now we've also seen three shootings of local residents by federal agents, two of those fatal. And in addition to that argument that it's overwhelming state resources, attorneys also say the federal government is essentially using this operation to coerce the state to change its immigration enforcement practices.
Lawyers for the state this morning pointed to a letter from US Attorney General Pam Bondi sent to Governor Tim Walz this weekend, in which she asks for access to state records on residents and also said the state needs to end what she calls sanctuary policies. That's those policies that limit local law enforcement from collaborating with immigration enforcement. The state says that's also unconstitutional and violates the state's rights to make its own laws.
NINA MOINI: And this is one of several lawsuits in progress, again, over this current immigration operation. There's another hearing in federal court this afternoon. What can we expect out of that?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah, that's a hearing scheduled at 2:00 in a separate case. The state and Hennepin County attorneys are asking the federal government to preserve evidence related to Saturday's shooting of Alex Pretti. Federal officials have started that investigation into the shooting. But state officials have not yet been able to see that evidence. A federal judge issued an order in this case on Saturday blocking the Trump administration from destroying or altering any of that evidence. And we'll hear more about this at the hearing this afternoon.
NINA MOINI: So while officials wait for those court rulings, what is next for the federal government's operation here? Do you have a sense for that?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Well, we've gotten a little bit of word on this this morning. President Trump announced that he's sending border czar, Tom Homan, to the state to oversee ICE operations and report directly back to the president. He's expected to get in tonight. Trump and Walz also said this morning that they had a phone call about the operation, which Trump categorized as quote, "very good." He said he's on the same page with the governor about toning down tension. Walz called the talk productive and said he pushed Trump to decrease the presence of federal law enforcement here and also to let federal let local law enforcement investigate the shootings in Minneapolis. And according to Walz, Trump agreed to take those requests to his administration. That's the first time they've talked to each other about this operation after a tense couple of weeks and the two trading insults back and forth.
NINA MOINI: All right, Estelle. Thanks for that update.
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: You're welcome, Nina.
NINA MOINI: That's MPR News reporter, Estelle Timar-Wilcox.
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