MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, USA (AP) — The state of Minnesota and the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul filed suit against the federal government to halt an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation following the death of a Minneapolis woman who was shot by an ICE agent.
The state and the cities filed the lawsuit in federal court on Monday, along with a request for a temporary restraining order to stop or limit the agency’s operation.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says it plans to send more than 2,000 immigration agents to Minnesota, and that it has already conducted more than 2,000 arrests in the city since the operation began last month. ICE has said it is the largest immigration operation to date.
The lawsuit contends that the “Operation Metro Surge” violates federal law because it is arbitrary and capricious, since in other states proportional operations are not carried out. And while the federal government claims it is aimed at combating fraud, the lawsuit states that ICE agents lack experience in fighting fraud in government programs.
The suit notes that the federal government is actually targeting Minnesota for political reasons, which it says constitutes a violation of the First Amendment.
Also on Monday, immigration agents fired tear gas to disperse people in Minneapolis who had gathered to witness the aftermath of a car crash involving immigration agents, just a few blocks from where Renee Good was shot last week.
The crowd gathered to witness how a man was being questioned by agents who had crashed his car. The agents used tear gas to try to disperse the group, then left as people yelled: “Cowards!”
It was another tense scene following Good’s death on January 7 and after a weekend of more immigration raids in the Minneapolis metropolitan area. There were dozens of protests and vigils across the United States to honor Good and criticize the Trump administration’s tactics.
Governor Tim Walz and his wife Gwen visited Good’s memorial, on the street where she was shot in the head by an immigration agent while driving her pickup.
Trump administration officials have repeatedly defended the immigration agent who shot and killed Good, saying that Good and her vehicle posed a threat. But Walz and others have criticized that explanation based on footage taken at the moment.
Christian Molina, a U.S. citizen living in Coon Rapids, said he was driving toward a mechanic on Monday when agents in another vehicle followed him, and even sounded a siren.
Molina said his rear bumper was struck when he turned a corner. He refused to show identification to the agents, saying he would wait for local police.
“I’m glad they didn’t shoot me or anything,” Molina told reporters.
Standing near the damaged fender, he wondered aloud: “Who is going to pay for my car?”
Meanwhile, in Portland, Oregon, federal authorities charged a Venezuelan citizen who was one of the two people shot there by Border Patrol agents on Thursday. The Department of Justice said the man used his pickup to strike a Border Patrol vehicle and flee the scene along with a woman.
They were shot and ultimately arrested. Their injuries were not life-threatening. The FBI said there was no video of the incident, unlike Good’s shooting.
