The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has launched a major legal challenge against the Trump administration, alleging a campaign of racial profiling and unlawful arrests by federal immigration agents in Minnesota.
Lawsuit Details Alleged Constitutional Violations
Filed on Thursday, the 72-page lawsuit names the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), its secretary Kristi Noem, and several Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers as defendants. It was brought on behalf of three US citizens who claim their constitutional rights were violated.
The ACLU contends that a surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity has disproportionately targeted Somali and Latino communities across the state. The lawsuit describes a "startling pattern of abuse" that is "fundamentally altering civic life" in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and wider Minnesota.
Plaintiffs' Harrowing Accounts of Detention
The court document provides detailed allegations from the plaintiffs. Mubashir Khalif Hussen, a 20-year-old US citizen, says he was detained by masked agents in Minneapolis's Cedar-Riverside neighbourhood in December. Despite repeatedly stating "I'm a citizen," he alleges agents placed him in a headlock, took him to the Whipple federal building, shackled him, and denied him water and medical aid.
In a separate incident in January, Hussen claims he was pepper-sprayed in the face by an agent in a passing car while he filmed a protest on a public sidewalk.
Another plaintiff, 25-year-old Mahamed Eydarus, alleges he and his mother were surrounded by plain-clothed, masked agents while shovelling snow last month. The agents allegedly demanded ID to prove he was "not illegal," questioned his mother, and instructed her to remove her religious niqab while criticising them for speaking Somali.
Legal and Political Repercussions Mount
In a statement, ACLU Minnesota attorney Catherine Ahlin-Halverson called the agents' conduct "illegal and morally reprehensible," saying it has spread fear through immigrant communities. Kate Huddleston of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project condemned the "police-state tactics" as contrary to American principles.
The lawsuit emerges amid intense scrutiny of federal operations in Minnesota, following the killing of 37-year-old mother Renee Good by a federal agent, which sparked widespread protests. While the DHS defends its actions as targeting individuals illegally in the US with criminal records, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has denounced the surge as an unconstitutional "federal invasion" and a "campaign of retribution."
The Guardian has contacted the DHS for comment on the ongoing legal proceedings.
