Justice Department sues Minnesota over immigrant sanctuary policies

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Minnesota and the Twin Cities over their respective immigration enforcement policies.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court Monday, argues Minnesota’s “sanctuary” policies that limit police cooperation in federal immigration enforcement violates U.S. law and endangers the public.

“Minnesota officials are jeopardizing the safety of their own citizens by allowing illegal aliens to circumvent the legal process,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The suit, which names Minnesota, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Hennepin County and top state officials, targets a number of local ordinances. Some of the policies limit what data can be shared with federal immigration agents and when police can ask about a person’s immigration status. The suit asks the federal court to eliminate the policies.

The DOJ’s lawsuit follows a series of civil legal actions against six other cities and states, including Boston and New York City, and targets sanctuary policies that federal officials say impede on President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.

In August, Minnesota was among 12 states listed by the DOJ for having immigration “sanctuary jurisdictions.” The list came after an executive order by Trump to identify jurisdictions that defy federal immigration law.

The Minnesota Star Tribune has reached out to each party named in the suit for comment.

“This baseless lawsuit is just more political retaliation against Minnesota and we will respond in court. In the meantime, Minnesota will continue to use our law enforcement resources to actually improve public safety,” Ellison said.

Gov. Tim Walz in June appeared before the U.S. House Oversight Committee over the state’s immigration policies.

“The fact is, Minnesota cooperates with federal immigration authorities in a number of ways. When there is a convicted felon in our prisons, we ask about their immigration status and we share that information with the Department of Homeland Security if they are undocumented,” he said at the time. “That is codified in Minnesota state law.”

Minneapolis and St. Paul mayors both pledged to fight the lawsuit when asked for comment, each taking aim at the Trump administration.

“Minneapolis will not back down. We will fight with all our strength for our immigrant neighbors — and like every time we’ve faced Donald Trump in court — we will win,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a prepared statement. “Trump has built his career on attacking immigrants and dividing Americans. Minneapolis will always stand with our neighbors, not Trump’s politics of fear.”