Minnesota, Illinois sue to stop ICE ‘invasion’

ICE agents stands off against protesters in Minneapolis with gas canister in hand

(Image credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images)

What happened

Minnesota and Illinois on Monday filed separate lawsuits asking federal courts to end the mass deployments of immigration officers to their states or at least limit the aggressive tactics of the armed, masked agents. The lawsuits argued that the surge of ICE agents violated the Constitution’s First and 10th Amendments and was motivated by President Donald Trump’s animus toward Democratic states that welcomed immigrants, not safety.

“Being free from unlawful seizures, excessive force and retaliation are not a list of aspirations Minnesotans deserve; these are rights enshrined within state and federal laws,” Minnesota’s complaint said. Longstanding tensions over Trump’s mass deportation operations have flared since an ICE agent shot and killed Minneapolis resident Renee Good in her car last week. The Trump administration has responded by blaming Good and sending hundreds more immigration agents to Minneapolis, purportedly in response to a welfare fraud scandal.

Who said what

Sending “thousands of armed and masked DHS agents” to sow “chaos and terror” through “militarized raids” on schools, churches and hospitals “is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities and Minnesota, and it must stop,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said at a news conference Monday. If Trump wanted to tackle fraud, “you’d see an invasion of accountants,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. “We are not asking ICE not to do ICE things,” just to “stop the unconstitutional conduct that is invading our streets.”

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“Sanctuary politicians like Ellison are the EXACT reason that DHS surged to Minnesota in the first place,” Homeland Security Department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “We have the Constitution on our side on this.”

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which “regularly handles investigations of police shootings,” has “not been brought into” the federal investigation of Good’s death, The Washington Post said, deepening “doubts, already raised by Minnesota officials, about whether the shooting will receive a fair and scrupulous examination.” At least four top leaders of the Civil Rights Division’s criminal section “have resigned in protest” of division chief Harmeet Dhillon’s decision not to investigate, said MS NOW.

What next?

Minnesota officials said they will seek a temporary restraining order on the federal surge at a hearing on Tuesday.

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.