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2 hours ago
Judge set to hear arguments on Minnesota's immigration crackdown after killings by federal agents
We are restarting our live coverage in the aftermath of the killing of Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis on Saturday, as pressure grows on the Trump administration to fully investigate the fatal shooting amid mounting bipartisan opposition to ICE’s presence in Minnesota.
A federal judge will hear arguments later today on whether she should halt the often brutal immigration crackdown in Minnesota that has led to the killings of two 37-year-old US citizens in under a month by government officers.
The state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St Paul sued the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, earlier this month, five days after Renee Good, a mother-of-three and prize-winning poet, was shot to death by an ICE officer, sparking outrage and protests in Minneapolis.
They are asking that US District Judge Kathleen Menendez order federal law enforcement agencies to reduce the numbers of agents in Minnesota (about 3,000) to levels before ICE launched its so-called “Operation Metro Surge” in the Minneapolis area last month.
The surge of federal agents – that roughly outnumbers the Minneapolis police force five to one – has caused terror in communities across the state, with reports of legal observers being hauled off without charge, schoolchildren teargassed and armed officers appearing at daycares, churches and mosques.
Speaking at a news conference yesterday, Democratic Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison said he and the cities filed their lawsuit because of “the unprecedented nature of this surge. It is a novel abuse of the constitution that we’re looking at right now. No one can remember a time when we’ve seen something like this.”
It wasn’t clear ahead of the hearing when the judge might rule. Justice Department attorneys have called the lawsuit “legally frivolous” and said “Minnesota wants a veto over federal law enforcement.”
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Republicans call for investigation after Pretti killing
Adam Fulton
A growing number of Republicans are pressing for a deeper investigation into federal immigration tactics in Minnesota after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti – a sign that the Trump administration’s accounting of events may face bipartisan scrutiny.
The Republican chairman of the House homeland security committee, Andrew Garbarino, has sought testimony from leaders at ICE, Customs and Border Protection and US Citizenship and Immigration Services, saying “my top priority remains keeping Americans safe”, the Associated Press is reporting.
A host of other congressional Republicans have pressed for more information, including representative Michael McCaul of Texas and senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Their statements, in addition to concern expressed from several Republican governors, reflects a party struggling with how to respond to federal agents’ killing of Pretti.
Alex Pretti’s family released a statement on Saturday evening in which they said they were “heartbroken but also very angry” after the US president, Donald Trump, and his officials referred to Pretti as a “gunman” who had approached US border patrol officers.
“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed,” the family statement said. “Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”
Two witnesses to the killing have said in sworn testimony that Pretti was not brandishing a weapon when he approached federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday. One witness said federal agents tackled him after he came to help someone whom they had pushed to the ground.
The Trump administration’s unfounded claims about what happened are also directly undermined by the publicly available video. The homeland security secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti was shot because he was “brandishing” a gun.
Widely circulated video showed half a dozen officers taking Pretti – who had a phone, not a gun, visibly in his hand – to the ground after spraying him with a chemical agent.
Judge set to hear arguments on Minnesota's immigration crackdown after killings by federal agents
We are restarting our live coverage in the aftermath of the killing of Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis on Saturday, as pressure grows on the Trump administration to fully investigate the fatal shooting amid mounting bipartisan opposition to ICE’s presence in Minnesota.
A federal judge will hear arguments later today on whether she should halt the often brutal immigration crackdown in Minnesota that has led to the killings of two 37-year-old US citizens in under a month by government officers.
The state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St Paul sued the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, earlier this month, five days after Renee Good, a mother-of-three and prize-winning poet, was shot to death by an ICE officer, sparking outrage and protests in Minneapolis.
They are asking that US District Judge Kathleen Menendez order federal law enforcement agencies to reduce the numbers of agents in Minnesota (about 3,000) to levels before ICE launched its so-called “Operation Metro Surge” in the Minneapolis area last month.
The surge of federal agents – that roughly outnumbers the Minneapolis police force five to one – has caused terror in communities across the state, with reports of legal observers being hauled off without charge, schoolchildren teargassed and armed officers appearing at daycares, churches and mosques.
Speaking at a news conference yesterday, Democratic Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison said he and the cities filed their lawsuit because of “the unprecedented nature of this surge. It is a novel abuse of the constitution that we’re looking at right now. No one can remember a time when we’ve seen something like this.”
It wasn’t clear ahead of the hearing when the judge might rule. Justice Department attorneys have called the lawsuit “legally frivolous” and said “Minnesota wants a veto over federal law enforcement.”
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