Legal challenges continue to mount for the Trump administration over itsongoing immigration crackdown in Minnesota, where theshooting death of an unarmed U.S. citizenlast week triggered days of sometimes violent protests.
On Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court for Minnesota against Immigration and Customs Enforcement on behalf of three people who say they have been racially profiled in recent weeks, the ACLU said in a statement.
"The Trump administration has been clear in its targeting of the Somali and Latino communities through Operation Metro Surge. President Trump called people from Somalia 'garbage,' said 'we don't want them in our country,' and told them to 'go back to where they came from,'" the statement read in part.
"Following Trump's comments, ICE and CBP agents have indiscriminately arrested — without warrants or probable cause — Minnesotans solely because the agents perceived them to be Somali or Latino," it said.
According to the lawsuit, multiple masked ICE agents stopped U.S citizen Mubashir Khalif Hussen, 20, on Dec. 10 during his lunch break. Hussen, who is of Somali descent and is the manager of a local mental health provider, said in the lawsuit that he repeatedly told the agents that he was a citizen but that they refused to look at his identification.
Hussen was put into an SUV and driven to a processing center where he was shackled and had his fingerprints taken, the lawsuit says. He was released after he provided a photo of his passport.
"At no time did any officer ask me whether I was a citizen or if I had any immigration status," Hussen said in a statement. "They did not ask for any identifying information, nor did they ask about my ties to the community, how long I had lived in the Twin Cities, my family in Minnesota, or anything else about my circumstances."
Federal agents questioned Mahamed Eydarus, 25, the same day, according to the lawsuit. He had just finished an overnight shift as a personal care assistant and was shoveling snow out of his parking space with the help of his mother when agents approached. They asked why Eydarus and his mother, who are both of Somali descent and both U.S. citizens, were speaking a foreign language, according to the lawsuit. The agents left after Eydarus and his mother showed the masked agents their identification, it says.
In an emailed statement, the Department of Homeland Security denied wrongdoing and called the allegations "disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE."
"What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S.—NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity. Protected under the Fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution, DHS law enforcement uses 'reasonable suspicion' to make arrests," the statement read in part. "There are no 'indiscriminate stops' being made. The Supreme Court recently vindicated us on this question. DHS enforces federal immigration law without fear, favor, or prejudice."
The ACLU lawsuit followsa separate legal challengethat Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed this week on behalf of the state and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. It asked the court to declare the surge of 3,000 DHS agents unconstitutional and unlawful and to immediately stop operations.
The80-page lawsuitaccused federal immigration agencies of bringing "fear and terror" to the streets of Minnesota and using excessive force against residents. Citing the fatal shooting of Renee Good on Jan. 7, Ellison said immigration enforcement has caused schools and businesses to close and local police to log more than 3,000 hours in overtime from Jan. 7 to Jan. 9.
"The Trump Administration's decision to target Minnesota and the Twin Cities has been motivated by a desire to retaliate against perceived political enemies rather than good faith immigration enforcement, public safety, or law enforcement concerns," Ellison's office said in a statement.
"Immigration enforcement is clearly a pretext for the surge, as the percentage of Minnesota's population that are noncitizen immigrants without legal status sits at roughly 1.5%, which is less than half of the national average," the statement continued.
On Wednesday, a federal judge declined to immediately issue a temporary restraining order and asked for more evidence before ruling.
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social following the ruling that ICE will continue its operations.
"The great patriots of Law Enforcement will continue to make our Country safe. RECORD LOW CRIME NUMBERS!!!" the post read in part.
Hours later, DHSposted a message on Xwarning protesters to cooperate with federal officials or risk facing criminal justice:
"REMINDER: if you obstruct a law enforcement officer it is a federal crime and felony.
"If you lay a finger on law enforcement or destroy federal property you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
"Be smart."
