Minnesota Sues Trump To Block Ice Agent Surge In Minneapolis

Minnesota officials are suing to block the deployment of thousands of immigration officers in the state, furthering the division between local officials and the federal government following the killing of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE agent last week.

The state of Minnesota and the municipal governments of Minneapolis and St. Paul filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to block the Department of Homeland Security from executing a planned surge of federal immigration officers to the Twin Cities.

The lawsuit asks a judge to issue an injunction removing immigration agents immediately, and argues that Trump’s deployment of additional immigration officers violates the Constitution.

“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,” the lawsuit says.

Last week, an ICE officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis. The incident sparked days of protests from residents concerned about the heightened presence of immigration officials in the city. The Trump administration has strongly defended the officer’s conduct during the incident.

The Department of Justice has said it will not cooperate with local officials in investigating the incident, prompting the state’s investigative agency to launch a separate inquiry into the incident. CNN reported the lack of cooperation reflected a mutual distrust between federal and state officials.

Earlier on Monday, Illinois officials filed a similar lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration from conducting immigration enforcement in the state. Immigration agents have been conducting large-scale enforcement actions in Chicago for months.

Both lawsuits argued the Trump administration is violating the Tenth Amendment, which protects the sovereignty of states. In a statement, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin criticized the legal argument used by both states.

“It really is astounding that the Left can miraculously rediscover the Tenth Amendment when they don’t want federal law enforcement officers to enforce federal law — which is a clear federal responsibility under Article I, Article II and the Supremacy Clause — and then go right back to federalizing every state responsibility possible when they get back in power. Spare us,” McLaughlin said.

Shia Kapos contributed to this report.