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DOJ Subpoenas Walz: Minnesota Obstruction Investigation
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal prosecutors served six grand jury subpoenas Tuesday to Minnesota officials as part of an investigation into potential obstruction of federal law enforcement during a large-scale immigration operation in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Is the federal government overstepping, or are state officials hindering legitimate enforcement?
The subpoenas, requesting records, were delivered 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 source said. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Mayor: Subpoenas Aim to Intimidate
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Walz and Frey, both Democrats, have characterized the probe as a politically motivated attempt to stifle dissent. Frey’s office released a copy of the subpoena, dated Feb. 3, demanding a comprehensive list of records related to “cooperation or lack of cooperation” with federal authorities 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 stated.
Her, a Hmong immigrant and Democrat, acknowledged receiving a subpoena but said she remains “unfazed by these tactics.” The governor’s office directed inquiries to a previous statement from Tuesday, in which Walz accused the previous administration of seeking distractions rather than justice.
The subpoenas followed a day after the government moved to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to halt the immigration enforcement surge that has gripped Minneapolis and St. Paul in recent weeks.
The Justice Department dismissed the state’s lawsuit, filed shortly after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an immigration officer, as “legally frivolous.”
“Put simply, Minnesota wants a veto over federal law enforcement,” government attorneys argued in court filings.
Ellison asserted that the government was infringing upon free speech and constitutional rights, describing the deployed officers as inadequately trained and calling for an end to the “invasion.”
The lawsuit, filed Jan. 12, requests a court order to halt or limit the enforcement action. A decision from U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez is pending.
Ilan Wurman, a constitutional law professor at University of Minnesota Law School, expressed skepticism about the state’s legal arguments.
“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 explained to The Associated Press.
Tracking Arrests Proves Difficult
Greg Bovino, of U.S. Border Patrol, who led the previous administration’s immigration crackdown in major cities, reported that over 10,000 individuals in the U.S. illegally have been arrested in Minnesota in the past year, including 3,000 “of some of the most dangerous offenders” during the last six weeks of Operation Metro Surge.
He did not provide further details but highlighted the apprehension of three individuals with criminal records from Laos, Guatemala, and Honduras.
WATCH: Border Patrol and ICE leaders hold briefing on Minneapolis operations
“These are not technical violations. As I mentioned, these are individuals responsible for serious harm,” Bovino said at a news conference.
Julia Decker, policy director at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, voiced frustration over the lack of transparency, stating that advocates have no way to verify the accuracy of the government’s arrest numbers and descriptions of those in custody.
“These are real people we’re talking about, that we potentially have no idea what is happening to them,” Decker said.
Bovino Defends His Team’s Actions
Good, 37, was fatally shot on Jan. 7 while maneuvering her vehicle, which had been blocking a Minneapolis street where ICE officers were operating. The previous administration claimed the officer, Jonathan Ross, acted in self-defense, although video footage shows the Honda Pilot slowly turning away from him.
Since the shooting, the public has repeatedly confronted officers, using whistles and verbal abuse. In response, officers have deployed tear gas and chemical irritants against protesters. Videos have surfaced showing officers using a battering ram to enter a home, smashing vehicle windows, and forcibly removing individuals from cars.
Bovino defended his “troops,” asserting that their actions are “legal, ethical and moral.”
“What we see when folks get swept up, as you say, oftentimes it’s as agitators, as rioters, and now I call them anarchists,” he told reporters, distinguishing them from “ordinary citizens, Ma, Pa America.”
Law enforcement officials in the region reported that off-duty officers have been racially profiled and stopped without cause by federal agents. Brooklyn Park police Chief Mark Bruley stated he has received complaints from residents, including his own officers, who are U.S. citizens.
