Wisconsin is adding its support to a lawsuit from Minnesota, urging a federal judge to order U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to back down in that state.
Wisconsin’s Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul joined nearly 20 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief late last week, arguing ICE’s “extreme” conduct must be constrained in Minnesota.
Those states have joined Minnesota in arguing that ICE’s actions are violating Minnesota’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
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In an interview with WPR, Kaul said state-level authority is currently “under attack” in Minnesota
“States are sovereign, and I don’t want to see the kind of thing that’s happening in the Minneapolis area play out in communities in Wisconsin or anywhere else in the country,” Kaul said Monday afternoon. “What we see is this incredibly militarized presence of people in Minneapolis and a community that is really under siege. That should never be happening in any community in America.”
Minnesota’s Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison filed the suit Jan. 12, five days after an ICE agent fatally shot Minneapolis resident Renee Good.
The federal complaint calls for ICE to dial back its surge in Minnesota. It also calls on ICE to end “unlawful” behaviors, including:
- arresting, threatening and using force against innocent bystanders
- using force against individuals peacefully engaging in constitutionally protected speech
- pointing firearms at individuals who pose no threat to U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents
- carrying out enforcement actions at sensitive locations like schools, churches and hospitals, according to materials released by Ellison’s office
As part of what’s been dubbed “Operation Metro Surge,” President Donald Trump’s administration has sent more than 3,000 immigration agents to the Twin Cities — a number that exceeds the combined staff of the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments, legal filings say.
That’s prompted massive protests from Minnesotans. Meanwhile, tactics by federal officers, including the use of tear gas, as well as widespread “illegal stops and arrests,” have affected “every aspect of daily life for Minnesotans,” the amicus brief says.
“Defendants’ extreme and unlawful conduct is ripping at the fabric of our society,” the coalition of attorneys general wrote. “Pregnant women are afraid to go to their prenatal appointments for fear that they or their loved ones will be detained by federal agents. Vibrant shopping areas have turned into ghost towns, and businesses report 50 to 80 % in revenue losses due to the presence of immigration officers.”
DHS, which oversees ICE, has pushed back against Minnesota’s lawsuit, arguing federal officials are exercising their authority to enforce federal laws in Minnesota — including immigration laws.
But Kaul disputed that characterization.
“The federal government absolutely has a role enforcing immigration laws, and that’s not what this case is about,” Kaul said. “What we have seen is thousands of agents descend on this community. We have seen seen widespread violations of people’s rights. We’ve seen the Trump administration make clear that they have no interest in independent investigations in cases where people have have lost their lives.”
Earlier this month, federal officials said the Trump administration would not investigate the agent who shot Good. Meanwhile, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has launched a portal for collecting evidence, such as videos, related that killing, which could potentially be used in a future state-level prosecution.
On Saturday, days after Kaul joined the amicus brief, Border Patrol agents fatally shot another Minnesotan, Alex Pretti. Pretti was a graduate of Green Bay Preble High School in Wisconsin.
Kaul described the federal government’s response to Pretti’s killing as “disturbing.”
“There should be a full investigation into the facts of any kind of incident like that,” Kaul said. “It just reinforces how important it is for the courts to step in to protect people’s safety, but also to protect people’s freedom and to protect our system of government in this country.”
There have been growing calls from some Democrats for ICE to be dismantled and abolished.
While speaking to WPR, Kaul stopped short of calling for the agency’s abolition. Instead, he said ICE needs to be “fundamentally transformed.”
“It is not operating right now as an immigration enforcement agency, but rather as a tool of the president’s and of some of the president’s senior advisors,” Kaul said of ICE. “We need to make sure that our (immigration) enforcement agencies are like every other law enforcement agency where they respect people’s rights and the Constitution and the law.”
Minnesota is asking for a temporary restraining order to immediately curtail ICE’s actions. A judge heard oral arguments in the case Monday morning.
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