Ellison Sues ICE on Behalf of Minnesotans

Attorney General Ellison, on behalf of the people of Minnesota, and specifically, those in Minneapolis and St Paul , filed a major lawsuit against ICE. It warrants serious attention because it affects everyone.

The lawsuit argues that the United States was created when sovereign states came together to create a sovereign federal government. But in doing so, did not give up their rights as sovereign states to govern themselves. This idea is called “Duel Federalism,” where the United States has both a federal government and a state government with the power to govern.

The Tenth Amendment states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The lawsuit argues that the federal government is trampling on the State of Minnesota’s rights to self-govern, reserved to states by the Tenth Amendment.

Ellison’s lawsuit argues that The Tenth Amendment gives the State of Minnesota:

“sovereign authority to protect the health and wellbeing of all those who reside, work, or visit within their borders. The people of Minnesota are entitled to basic safety and dignity in their communities.”

The lawsuit then argues that ICE agents have been sent in for political retribution. It has a long list of violence carried out by ICE agents, including the shooting of Renee Good. It lays out the secondary impacts of ICE actions, including things like closed schools, police officers taken away from routine policing, closed businesses, lost tax revenue, and other negative impacts. It also lays out the lengthy number of ways ICE agents have broken Minnesota laws, including confiscating property, of deadly force, warrantless arrests, and other violations of state law. It also lays out how ICE has violated federal laws.

My wife Susan, a retired Juvenile Judge, read it in its entirety and extolled its thoroughness and well-reasoned arguments. “It is highly professional “ she declared. The fact that it was 80 pages long with an extensive history of events suggests it was a while in the making.

Ultimately, amidst this chaos and unleashing of hate, we are a nation of laws. We respect law and understand that it provides the stability and orderliness necessary for a democracy to succeed. Unfortunately, what is being frequently missed today is that law also applies to government including its leaders and enforcers.

In many ways, the words of Vice President Vance are at the center of this reign of terror because he gave ICE permission to be reckless, lawless, and deadly. According to the VP, ICE agents have “absolute protection from state charges.” How could any public official demonstrate such an appalling amount of ignorance? He did not even mention any qualifiers or conditions. No, it was blanket permission to ICE agents to do whatever they want and that is precisely what they are doing.

A Catholic Priest was detained and manhandled by ICE and later released with an agent saying it was because he was “white.“ The color of his skin was the acid test: not immigration or crime. It was just about old fashioned prejudices.

Now, close your eyes, envision Germany in 1937 and witness the Gestapo prowling the streets looking for Jews and political dissidents. `

That is the world of Trump and every one of us should applaud the filing of this lawsuit and do all we can to restore the supremacy of our Constitution.