Minnesota and Illinois File Lawsuits Challenging Federal ICE Actions
The portion of President Donald J. Trump’s administration entitled “Protecting The American People Against Invasion”, was the upsurge of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and the advancement of deportation undocumented immigrants. In this presidential action, strict enforcement of U.S. immigration laws were solidified, and Trump made his stance on supporting ICE clear. However, problems with ICE have risen from amendments and laws that have been violated.
In Minnesota and Illinois particularly, ICE has been accused of violating rights granted by the 10th Amendment, which states that any powers not given specifically to the federal government belong to the states. In an article from CNN, the two states have been fighting for their state rights, saying that the influx of ICE and border patrol is a major overstep of federal powers. The Attorney General of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, stated: “The Constitution gives Minnesota the sovereign authority to protect (the) health and wellbeing of every single person who lives in our borders,” also saying, “We’re going to defend those rights because – as much as they like to believe it – DHS (Department of Homeland Security) is not above the law, and the people of Minnesota are certainly not beneath it.”
The president was blamed for this abuse of federal power and JB Pritzker, the Governor of Illinois, added, “accountable for their unlawful tactics, unnecessary escalations, and flagrant abuses of power.” Trump countered this, saying it was in the country's best interest and necessary to enforce immigration laws as they had in Minnesota and Illinois.
According to CNN, ICE in Minnesota and Illinois resulted in the two states filing lawsuits against the federal government. Separately, Minnesota and Illinois are suing based on the violation of their 10th Amendment rights and how ICE is actively damaging the wellbeing of the states, specifically referencing public safety. Additionally, points were brought up also about the unprofessionalism of the troops. Attorney General Ellison described them as “armed, masked, and poorly trained federal agents.”
On Monday, January 11th, the lawsuits were officially filed. In the Minnesota lawsuit, the deployment is described as a “federal invasion” that has led to widespread chaos, including unlawful stops, arrests without probable cause and the use of force in sensitive places like schools and hospitals. As well as arguing that these actions have caused terrorized residents and diverted local law enforcement resources from normal public safety duties. The Illinois lawsuit similarly claims that federal agents have used unlawful and dangerous tactics that undermine constitutional rights and threaten safety, and requests that the court declare the enforcement operation unconstitutional and restrict the tactics agents can use in the state.