Minnesota and the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul, have sued the federal government to stop an enforcement surge by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to The Associated Press. The lawsuits come after federal agents fatally shot Renee Good during an incident on Jan. 7.
In addition to the lawsuit, the state and cities requested a temporary restraining order to halt the enforcement action or limit the operation. The Department of Homeland Security said it’s deploying more than 2,000 immigration officers into Minnesota and that agents have made more than 2,000 arrests since its operations began last month.
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The operation, called Operation Metro Surge by officials, is described as the largest enforcement operation ever.
What does the lawsuit state?
According to the AP, the lawsuit alleges that the operation violates federal law because it’s arbitrary and capricious. They cite other states that aren’t experiencing the same enforcement attention.
The lawsuit states that the ICE agents have no expertise in combating fraud in government programs, despite the Trump administration saying the operation is to fight fraud. The state says the White House is really targeting Minnesota for political reasons, which it says violates the First Amendment.
How has the crackdown looked in Minnesota?
Even before the fatal shooting of Good, demonstrators have protested the federal agents’ presence in the Twin Cities. The protests have gotten larger since the incident.
On Monday, federal authorities used tear gas to disperse crowds of people who showed up following a wreck involving immigration agents. The wreck happened only blocks away from the location of Good’s shooting, according to the AP.
According to the AP, a crowd began to form to see a man being questioned by agents who had rear-ended his car. The agents used tear gas to try to disperse the crowd but eventually drove off.
Weekend protest follows fatal shooting
Following Wednesday’s fatal shooting, groups formed dozens of protests across the country to show their opposition to the continued immigration crackdown by the Trump administration.
According to DHS, the agent killed Good after they said she tried to use her SUV to run him over. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that Good was a domestic terrorist and the agent who shot her, later identified as Jonathan Ross, shot only to protect himself.
Mayor Jacob Frey challenged this account, stating, “That is bulls–t.”
Initially, both state and federal investigators said they’d work together on the investigation into the shooting. However, state investigators said the FBI had locked them out of the evidence a day later and would not be able to complete an extensive investigation.
The Trump administration said that because an ICE agent was involved in the shooting, state investigators had no jurisdiction.
