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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 The Trump administration is urging a judge to reject efforts by Minnesota and its largest cities to stop the immigration enforcement surge that has roiled Minneapolis and St. Paul for weeks.<\/p>\n
The Justice Department called the lawsuit, filed soon after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an immigration officer, \u201clegally frivolous.\u201d Lawyers argued that the Department of Homeland Security is acting within its legal powers to enforce immigration laws.<\/p>\n
Operation Metro Surge has made the state safer with the arrests of more than 3,000 people who were in the country illegally, the government said Monday in a court filing.<\/p>\n
\u201cPut simply, Minnesota wants a veto over federal law enforcement,\u201d Justice Department attorneys wrote.<\/p>\n
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the government is violating free speech and other constitutional rights with its unprecedented sweeps. He described the armed officers as poorly trained and said the \u201cinvasion\u201d must cease.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit filed Jan. 12 seeks an order to halt or limit the enforcement action. More filings are expected, and it’s not known when U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez will make a decision.<\/p>\n
Ilan Wurman, who teaches constitutional law at University of Minnesota Law School, doubts the state’s arguments will be successful.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s no question that federal law is supreme over state law, that immigration enforcement is within the power of the federal government, and the president, within statutory bounds, can allocate more federal enforcement resources to states who\u2019ve been less cooperative in that enforcement space than other states have been,\u201d Wurman told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n
Julia Decker, policy director at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, expressed frustration that advocates have no way of knowing whether the government\u2019s arrest numbers and descriptions of the people in custody are accurate. U.S. citizens have been dragged from their homes and vehicles during the Minnesota surge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are real people we\u2019re talking about, that we potentially have no idea what is happening to them,\u201d Decker said.<\/p>\n
In a separate lawsuit, Menendez said Friday that federal officers can\u2019t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren\u2019t obstructing authorities.<\/p>\n
Good, 37, was killed on Jan. 7 as she was moving her vehicle, which had been blocking a Minneapolis street where Immigration and Customers Enforcement officers were operating. Trump administration officials say the officer, Jonathan Ross, shot her in self-defense, although videos of the encounter show the Honda Pilot slowly turning away from him.<\/p>\n
Since then, the public has repeatedly confronted officers, blowing whistles and yelling insults at ICE and U.S. Border Patrol. They, in turn, have used tear gas and chemical irritants against protesters. Bystanders have recorded video of officers using a battering ram to get into a house as well as smashing vehicle windows and dragging people out of cars.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump last week threatened to invoke an 1807 law and send troops to Minnesota, though he has backed off, at least in his public remarks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n