ACLU of Minnesota sues ICE, DHS over constitutional violations against observers

(CN) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and several law firms filed a federal class action on Wednesday, claiming Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are using intimidation and force to unconstitutionally silence bystanders observing immigration raids in the Twin Cities.

In the complaint filed on behalf of six Minnesota residents, the nonprofit says ICE agents have pepper-sprayed and pointed assault rifles at peaceful observers, temporarily abducted U.S. citizens and followed Minnesotans home in unmarked cars to scare them away from future protests.

“The people of Minnesota deserve better than this,” ACLU staff attorney Alicia Granse said in a press release. “The federal government’s unlawful attacks on observers and protestors must be stopped.”

The lawsuit comes amid Operation Metro Surge, a Department of Homeland Security initiative launched in early December that ramped up ICE activity and raids in Minnesota. While officials claim the operation targets “the worst of the worst” criminal immigrants, the nonprofit argues the recent surge has terrorized Minnesota’s Somali population and caused harm to Twin Cities residents.

One of the plaintiffs, Abdikadir Abdi Noor, is a 43-year-old Somali American and U.S. citizen of 20 years. On Dec. 15, Noor claims he attempted to inform community members of their rights and calm a restless crowd during a federal traffic stop of Latino individuals. Despite his de-escalation efforts, Noor was grabbed, tackled to the ground and detained by agents.

Among the other plaintiffs is Susan Tincher, a 55-year-old Minneapolis resident who claims she was tackled, handcuffed and held in a cell for five hours by federal agents just because she walked up and asked if they were ICE officials. Tincher was eventually released without charge, although DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claimed she was arrested for assaulting a federal agent and trying to break through a security perimeter, which Tincher claims are false accusations.

“I was on a public street,” Tincher said in the ACLU release. “I did not cross any lines. I did not interfere with anything.”

In another account, plaintiffs John Biestman and Janet Lee, a retired couple, claim they were boxed in by unmarked black SUVs and held at gunpoint after they followed an ICE vehicle after a raid at a local church. Before letting them leave, the elderly couple said federal agents threatened them with arrest and that “we have your license plate, we know where to find you.”

Detailed in the complaint is Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s letter to federal officials on Dec. 12 advocating for better treatment of Minnesotans who are exercising their constitutional rights in relation to these enforcement operations.

“Residents who document law enforcement activity, including immigration enforcement, play an essential role in transparency, accountability, and safeguarding the civil liberties of all in Minnesota,” he said. “Detaining citizens for exercising these rights sends a deeply disturbing signal about how those very rights are being eroded.”

Through the lawsuit, ACLU of Minnesota aims to vindicate the rights of Minnesotans who have been “victimized by their own government” for exercising their rights and to ensure that Minnesotans can assemble, observe, document and criticize the actions of government entities without fear of retaliation.