Jan. 13 (UPI) — Minnesota and Illinois are suing the Trump administration over its immigration crackdown, asking the courts to halt the surge of immigration law enforcement into the Democratic-led states.
Both lawsuits were filed Monday amid growing criticism of the Trump administration’s deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents following the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, in Minneapolis last week.
Officials for the states argue that the masked and armed Department of Homeland Security agents, deployed to their cities to conduct immigration raids, are spreading terror among the public and using excessive force.
“We have watched in horror as unchecked federal agents have aggressively assaulted and terrorized our communities and neighborhoods in Illinois, undermining constitutional rights and threatening public safety,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement.
“In the face of the Trump administration’s cruelty and intimidation, Illinois is standing up against the attacks on our people.”
The cities of Chicago, Minneapolis and Saint Paul are also named as plaintiffs in their states’ respective lawsuits.
President Donald Trump ran on a strong anti-immigration platform, which he has been executing since his return to the White House a year ago.
In September, the Department of Homeland Security increased its presence in Illinois, deploying what the state described as “quasi-military personnel” from ICE and Customs and Border Protection, initiating a “coordinated campaign of violence and intimidation,” according to the Illinois lawsuit.
Filed by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, the lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of targeting Democratic-led states and Chicago as punishment for not adopting Trump’s immigration policies.
The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration’s law enforcement effort of being an attack on Illinois and Chicago’s ability to conduct their core sovereign functions in violation of the Constitution.
Schools have gone into lockdown, social services organizations have reduced services and courthouse operations have been hindered are among the government functions the lawsuit alleges have been negatively impacted by the immigration crackdown.
In Minnesota, the Trump administration surged immigration law enforcement with the initiation of Operation Metro Surge in December to fight fraud.
Their lawsuit similarly accuses the DHS agents of repeatedly and brazenly deploying excessive force as it conducts “dangerous, illegal and unconstitutional stops and arrests, spreading terror through the Twin Cities.
“Defendants claim to have deployed over 2,000 DHS agents to the Twin Cities — a number that greatly exceeds the number of sown police officers that Minneapolis and Saint Paul have, combined. Operation Metro Surge is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities,” Minnesota said in the lawsuit.
Minnesota is run by Gov. Tim Walz, a political opponent of Trump who ran against him and Vice President JD Vance in the last presidential election.
The lawsuit alleges Operation Metro Surge is seeking to punish Walz and to score partisan points while seeking to “provoke community outrage, sow fear and inflict emotional distress.”
Like Illinois, Minnesota alleges that the immigration law enforcement operation is interfering with state and local officials’ abilities to protect and care for residents, in violation of the Constitution.
“The unlawful tactics used by Defendants’ agents have left members of Plaintiffs’ communities afraid to shop, go to work, attend school, access basic government services, or otherwise live their lives. They have also resulted in school closures across the Twin Cities due to safety concerns,” the lawsuit states.