Katie Britt's Sad Confusion about and Complicity in Misallocation of HSI - emptywheel

"Plaintiffs seek injunctive relief to halt three unlawful policies and practices. First, federal agents are stopping people to question them about immigration status without reasonable suspicion of removability-and particularly targeting those they perceive to be Somali or Latino. Second, federal agents are arresting people for immigration reasons without warrants and without probable cause to believe that they are removable, outrageously including U.S. citizens (who plainly cannot be detained for civil immigration purposes) and individuals with immigration status."

"The constitutional guarantees of the Fourth Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause, and federal statutory law, prohibit these kinds of police-state tactics."

"On the ICE side, the St. Paul Office went from 190 ERO officers covering Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa, of which 80 focus on the Twin Cities, to 'approximately 3,000 additional ERO officers and HSI agents.' As of Monday, there were '270 ERO officers and 700 HSI agents' in the St. Paul office."

A lawsuit seeks to halt three unlawful federal immigration enforcement policies in Minnesota. Federal agents are stopping individuals to question them about immigration status without reasonable suspicion, particularly targeting those perceived as Somali or Latino. Agents are making arrests for immigration reasons without warrants and without probable cause for removability, including U.S. citizens and individuals with valid immigration status. Additionally, warrantless arrests occur without probable cause to believe individuals are flight risks. These practices violate the Fourth Amendment, Equal Protection Clause, and federal statutory law. DHS declarations document a significant surge in enforcement personnel, with the St. Paul ICE office expanding from 80 officers focused on the Twin Cities to approximately 970 combined ERO and HSI agents, alongside approximately 1,029 CBP employees deployed to Minnesota.

Read at emptywheel