Overview
- Minnesota and its two largest cities filed a federal suit targeting Operation Metro Surge, calling the deployment unlawful and politically motivated and naming Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other officials.
- Plaintiffs seek immediate limits on federal conduct, including bans on threatening unarrested people, requirements for visible identification and body cameras, and restrictions on masked or unmarked operations, with an emergency hearing expected as early as Tuesday as reported.
- The lawsuit follows the Jan. 7 shooting of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, with DHS asserting self-defense and state officials pointing to videos that appear to show Good turning away, while DOJ and the FBI have taken sole control of the investigation.
- DHS says more than 2,000 agents are operating in Minnesota and that hundreds more are deploying, describing the effort as ICE’s largest operation, with officials reporting over 2,000 arrests since December.
- Protests have swelled across the Twin Cities and beyond, with federal agents using tear gas and pepper spray during confrontations, and Illinois and Chicago filed a parallel lawsuit challenging similar tactics.