A class-action lawsuit against federal immigration agencies for the way agents treated observers and protesters during Operation Metro Surge is growing.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed an updated complaint in federal court on Friday, Feb. 13, that includes eyewitness testimony from more than 80 Minnesotans. It also adds two new plaintiffs.
The statements detail how federal agents used chemical irritants, less-lethal munitions and physical force against residents observing and protesting actions during the immigration enforcement, which will soon wind down.
The initial lawsuit was filed on behalf of six residents including Susan Tincher, a Minneapolis resident who was shoved into a snowbank by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. After the case was filed Dec. 17, a judge ordered federal agents to change their tactics, but that order was frozen by an appeals court.
Alicia Granse, staff attorney for the ACLU of Minnesota, says the new testimony illustrates the multitude of ways immigration agents retaliate against protesters.
“The sheer number and the egregious conduct will show the court this is not, as the government has argued, a series of one-offs,” Granse said. “This is the manifestation of a national policy from this administration to retaliate against observers and protesters.”
She added that video from observers and protesters was essential for oversight of immigration agencies and helped the world see how Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed. After both shootings President Donald Trump and members of his administration blamed the two U.S. citizens.
“Without the videos, without the work these observers are doing, we don’t have the insight of what these agents are ostensibly doing in our name, or saying they are doing in the name of public safety,” Granse said. “It is absolutely the opposite of public safety. They’re putting people in danger.”
