By Madison McVan, Minnesota Reformer
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison condemned Tuesday’s militarized federal law enforcement action in Minneapolis, saying “it seemed like the point was to inflict terror and fear into the community.”
Dozens of armed federal agents from multiple agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raided a Minneapolis taco restaurant Tuesday in a majority-Latino neighborhood that was rocked by protests against the police murder of George Floyd five years ago. Minneapolis police were also present.
The raid was Minnesota’s first under President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security Task Force, which he established via executive order on the first day of his second term, according to a statement from ICE, which called it a “groundbreaking criminal operation.”
“If they want to inflict fear, and they wanted to discourage cooperation, they achieved both those goals yesterday,” Ellison said Wednesday in an interview with States Newsroom.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the raid was not related to immigration enforcement, but “a criminal search warrant for drugs and money laundering.”
But information was sparse on the scene. Hundreds of immigrant rights activists and neighbors surrounded the restaurant, yelling at officers and attempting to block their armored vehicles. Many officers wore face coverings and camouflage fatigues, and some refused to identify which agency they were with.
Officers used chemical irritants and piercing sirens to disperse the crowd. No one was arrested during the raid, Frey said Tuesday.
Ellison said he was not informed of the raid before it happened, and that the raid was “way over the top in terms of resource allocation.”
Ellison’s remarks add to a chorus of condemnation among local officials who are concerned about the fate of immigrants in Minnesota.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty released a statement Wednesday morning saying across the country, “ICE is being deployed to terrorize people.”
“My singular focus is on the safety of the people who live here, and I want to be clear that ICE showing up alongside local law enforcement causes grievous and irreparable harm,” Moriarty said.
DFL State Sen. Omar Fateh, who is running against Frey for Minneapolis mayor, said on social media that Minneapolis is a “‘sanctuary’ in name only.”
“There is no circumstance in which MPD should cooperate with ICE,” Fateh wrote. “By labeling it in an investigation of ‘criminal activity,’ ICE visited fear into the heart of an immigrant neighborhood — and our communities were shaken.”
After Trump’s re-election, Frey promised that Minneapolis police would not assist with civil immigration enforcement.
“The Minneapolis Police Department’s only role was assisting with crowd control and keeping the community safe as a large number of residents and bystanders had gathered at the scene,” Frey said Tuesday. “They have not been involved in anything related to immigration enforcement.”
Ellison said Wednesday that the state government also is not obligated to help federal agents locate and arrest immigrants.
Asked how the raid’s execution will impact his working relationship with federal agencies, Ellison said “it’s not that great now.”
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.
