Tensions flare in Minnesota as protesters and federal agents repeatedly square off
MINNEAPOLIS — Days of demonstrations against immigration agents left Minnesota tense on Tuesday, a day after federal authorities used tear gas to break up crowds of whistle-blowing activists and state and local leaders sued to fight the enforcement surge that led to the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman.
Confrontations between federal agents and protesters stretched throughout the day and across multiple cities on Monday. Agents fired tear gas in Minneapolis as a crowd gathered around immigration officers questioning a man, while to the northwest in St. Cloud hundreds of people protested outside a strip of Somali-run businesses after ICE officers arrived.
Later that night, confrontations erupted between protesters and officers guarding the federal building being used as a base for the Twin Cities crackdown.
With the Department of Homeland Security pledging to send more than 2,000 immigration officers into Minnesota in what Immigration and Customs Enforcement has called its largest enforcement operation ever, the state, joined by Minneapolis and St. Paul, sued the Trump administration Monday to try to halt or limit the surge.
The lawsuit says the Department of Homeland Security operation violates the First Amendment and other constitutional protections and accuses the Republican Trump administration of violating free speech rights by focusing on a progressive state that favors Democrats and welcomes immigrants.
“This is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and it must stop,” state Attorney General Keith Ellison said at a news conference.
Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December.
Dozens of protests or vigils have taken place across the U.S. to honor Renee Good since the 37-year-old mother of three was shot in the head by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.
In response to Monday’s lawsuit, Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin accused Minnesota officials of ignoring public safety.
“President Trump’s job is to protect the American people and enforce the law — no matter who your mayor, governor, or state attorney general is,” McLaughlin said.
The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the immigration agent who shot Good, saying she and her vehicle presented a threat. But that explanation has been widely panned by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and others based on videos of the confrontation.
The government also faces a new lawsuit over a similar immigration crackdown in Illinois. More than 4,300 people were arrested last year in “Operation Midway Blitz” as masked agents swept the Chicago area. The lawsuit by the city and state says the campaign had a chilling effect, making residents afraid to leave home.
The lawsuit seeks restrictions on certain tactics, among other remedies. McLaughlin called it “baseless.”
Meanwhile, in Portland, Ore., federal authorities filed charges against a Venezuelan national who was one of two people shot there by U.S. Border Patrol on Thursday. The U.S. Justice Department said the man used his pickup truck to strike a Border Patrol vehicle and escape the scene with a woman.
They were shot and eventually arrested. Their wounds were not life-threatening. The FBI said there was no video of the incident, unlike the Good shooting.
Santana, Vancleave and Karnowski write for the Associated Press. AP reporters Ed White in Detroit; Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.