Justice Department subpoenas Walz and others in immigration enforcement obstruction investigation

MINNEAPOLIS — Federal prosecutors served six grand jury subpoenas Tuesday to Minnesota officials as part of an investigation into whether they obstructed or impeded federal law enforcement during a sweeping immigration operation in Minneapolis-St. Paul area, a person familiar with the matter said.

The subpoenas, which seek records, were sent to the offices of Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties, the person said.

The person was not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The subpoenas are related to an investigation into whether Minnesota officials obstructed federal immigration enforcement through public statements they made, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday. They said then it was focused on the potential violation of a conspiracy statute.

Mayor: Subpoenas are to stoke fear

Walz and Frey, both Democrats, have called the probe a bullying tactic meant to quell political opposition. Frey's office was ordered to produce a long list of records to a grand jury on Feb. 3, including ''cooperation or lack of cooperation with federal law enforcement" and ''any records tending to show a refusal to come to the aid of immigration officials.''

''We shouldn't have to live in a country where people fear that federal law enforcement will be used to play politics or crack down on local voices they disagree with,'' Frey said.

The subpoenas came as the Trump administration urged a judge to reject efforts by Minnesota and its largest cities to stop the immigration enforcement surge that has roiled Minneapolis and St. Paul for weeks.

The Justice Department called the lawsuit, filed soon after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an immigration officer, ''legally frivolous.'' Lawyers argued that the Department of Homeland Security is acting within its legal powers to enforce immigration laws.

Operation Metro Surge has made the state safer with the arrests of more than 3,000 people who were in the country illegally, the government said Monday in a court filing.

''Put simply, Minnesota wants a veto over federal law enforcement,'' Justice Department attorneys wrote.

Ellison said the government is violating free speech and other constitutional rights with its unprecedented sweeps. He described the armed officers as poorly trained and said the ''invasion'' must cease.

Hard to track arrests

Ilan Wurman, who teaches constitutional law at University of Minnesota Law School, doubts the state's arguments will be successful.

''There's no question that federal law is supreme over state law, that immigration enforcement is within the power of the federal government, and the president, within statutory bounds, can allocate more federal enforcement resources to states who've been less cooperative in that enforcement space than other states have been,'' Wurman told The Associated Press.

Julia Decker, policy director at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, expressed frustration that advocates have no way of knowing whether the government's arrest numbers and descriptions of the people in custody are accurate. U.S. citizens have been dragged from their homes and vehicles during the Minnesota surge.

''These are real people we're talking about, that we potentially have no idea what is happening to them,'' Decker said.

In a separate lawsuit, Menendez said Friday that federal officers can't detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren't obstructing authorities.

Good, 37, was killed on Jan. 7 as she was moving her vehicle, which had been blocking a Minneapolis street where Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were operating. Trump administration officials say the officer, Jonathan Ross, shot her in self-defense, although videos of the encounter show the Honda Pilot slowly turning away from him.

Since then, the public has repeatedly confronted officers, blowing whistles and yelling insults at ICE and U.S. Border Patrol. They, in turn, have used tear gas and chemical irritants against protesters. Bystanders have recorded video of officers using a battering ram to get into a house as well as smashing vehicle windows and dragging people out of cars.

Police in the region, meanwhile, said off-duty law enforcement officers have been racially profiled by federal officers and stopped without cause. Brooklyn Park police Chief Mark Bruley said he has received complaints from residents who are U.S. citizens, including his own officers.

''Every one of these individuals is a person of color who has had this happening,'' Bruley said during a news conference.

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