Federal judge weighs state lawsuit seeking to end ICE surge in Twin Cities
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A federal judge could issue a ruling soon in a lawsuit seeking an end to the current immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota.
The state is seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the operation and to restore the number of agents who were in the state before the operation began in December.
In a three-hour hearing in Minneapolis Monday morning, attorneys for the state of Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul argued that the federal government’s immigration crackdown is violating the constitution by overstepping the state’s sovereignty.
Attorneys for the state and cities painted a picture of chaos and stress caused by the operation. That includes an uptick in 911 calls related to immigration operations, increasing work for police and other emergency services. Attorneys also pointed to decreased school attendance, disrupted medical care in hospitals, economic impacts and backlash against observers, including three shootings by federal agents, two of them fatal.
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“It’s impacting nearly every walk of life,” Assistant Attorney General Lindsey Middlecamp said in an opening statement.
Attorneys also argued that the federal government is trying to force the state to change its practices around immigration enforcement. They say that violates the state’s constitutional right to make its own laws.
Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter pointed to a letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to Gov. Tim Walz this weekend. In it, she demands the state turn over voter registration and SNAP enrollment data, and end what she calls “sanctuary policies” that limit local law enforcement’s collaboration with federal immigration operations.
“It’s a shakedown letter, it’s a ransom note,” Carter said. “The federal government is attempting to bend the state’s rule to its own, and that is not allowed under the Constitution.”
Judge Katherine Menendez pressed attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice on that letter, and the motivation behind the operation. Attorneys for the federal government denied that the operation violates the Constitution, and said it’s providing needed law enforcement in Minnesota.
“There is legitimate law enforcement activity going on that the federal government has the authority to do,” said Brantley Mayers, a Justice Department attorney.
Menendez did not immediately issue a ruling, but said it’s an urgent case.
“If I had a burner in front of the front burner, this would be on it,” Menendez said. “It’s extremely important that I’m doing everything I can to get it right.”
— Estelle Timar-Wilcox, MPR News
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