Minnesota and its two largest cities sued the Trump administration on Monday, asking a court to stop or limit an immigration enforcement surge they said followed the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by a federal officer.
State Attorney General Keith Ellison said the Department of Homeland Security is violating the First Amendment and other constitutional protections, and the lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to halt the enforcement action or limit the operation.
“This is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and it must stop,” Ellison said at a news conference. He added, “These poorly trained, aggressive and armed agents of the federal state have terrorized Minnesota with widespread unlawful conduct.”
Homeland Security has said it will put more than 2,000 immigration officers into Minnesota and has made more than 2,000 arrests since December. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has called the surge its largest enforcement operation ever.
The case arrives amid renewed tension in Minneapolis, where protests and vigils have continued days after Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot in the head by an ICE officer while behind the wheel of her SUV. The legal fight intensified Monday, five days after the shooting, when demonstrators and students reported tear gas and other confrontations during the aftermath.
St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her said the enforcement focus is tied to how residents look and sound. “They’re targeting us based on what we look and sound like. Our residents are scared. And as local officials, we have a responsibility to act,” Her said.
In response, Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Minnesota officials were ignoring public safety and defended the administration’s broader justification. “President Trump’s job is to protect the American people and enforce the law — no matter who your mayor, governor, or state attorney general is,” McLaughlin said. “That’s what the Trump administration is doing; we have the Constitution on our side on this, and we look forward to proving that in court.”
The Minneapolis litigation also comes as activists and residents publicly criticized the government’s explanation for the shooting, which Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said has been contradicted by videos of the confrontation. The lawsuit accuses the administration of violating free speech rights by focusing on a progressive state that favors Democrats and welcomes immigrants.
On Monday, hundreds of students walked out of Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis, where federal agents had deployed tear gas on students and staff last week. Adults wearing safety vests cleared traffic during the walkout, and many parents who are Roosevelt alumni joined in old school wear. Marchers held signs reading “ICE out” and “Welcome to Panem,” a reference to the dystopian society in “The Hunger Games” book series.
Agents also fired tear gas to break up a crowd that had gathered to watch the aftermath of a car crash a few blocks from where Good was killed. The crowd emerged as a man was questioned after his vehicle rear-ended another car. Christian Molina, standing near his damaged fender, told reporters, “I’m glad they didn’t shoot me or something,” and later asked, “Who’s going to pay for my car?”
Elsewhere in Minnesota, hundreds of people gathered outside strip malls with Somali-run businesses in St. Cloud after news spread that dozens of ICE officers were there. Federal enforcement actions also drew attention in Portland, Oregon, where authorities filed charges against a Venezuelan national who was one of two people shot by U.S. Border Patrol on Thursday. The U.S. Justice Department said the man used his pickup truck to strike a Border Patrol vehicle and escape with a woman, and the FBI said there was no video of the incident, unlike the Good shooting.
The administration is also facing another lawsuit tied to an earlier crackdown in Illinois. That case concerns “Operation Midway Blitz,” in which more than 4,300 people were arrested last year in the Chicago area, according to the suit filed by the city and state, which said the campaign had a chilling effect by making residents afraid to leave home. McLaughlin called that Illinois lawsuit “baseless.”
Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit, Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.