ICE in MN: Lawsuits filed alleging violations of constitutional rights

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Claiming that federal officers "violated the constitutional rights of many Minnesota residents who sought to peacefully protest" the increased immigration enforcement brought on by Operation Metro Surge, attorneys in Minneapolis announced on Thursday what they are calling the "first wave" of class action complaints against several federal agencies.

READ MORE: Minnesota ICE crackdown: 80 people to sue over excessive force

ICE lawsuits in Minnesota

What we know:

Attorneys with BNCL Law, who represent the victim plaintiffs, said during an announcement on Thursday they intend to file at least 10 complaints on their behalf.

"The government can decide if they want to have deportation type rights. They can make that decision, but they don't get to violate the law in that process. And so, we're here to say they have violated the law and the rights of the people of this community, and they've done so in a number of different ways," said John Burris, founder of the BNCL law firm.

Founded in 1985 by Burris, BNCL is a California-based national law firm, billed to be "practicing in all areas of civil rights, with a focus on police misconduct and racial discrimination cases."

"We have at least 10 claims that we found – that's 10 that have signed up so far," Burris said. "We have many others that are under investigation that have not completed the process, but I thought it was important for us to start this process now, to put the government on notice that we're here, and we're going to be following these claims. You cannot illegally stop a person, detain that person, and arrest that person just because you don't like the conduct they're engaged in."

What they're saying:

Several members of the community and plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit detailed how the immigration enforcement operations negatively impacted their lives, many of which continue to experience the alleged lingering effects. Some of their testimonies can be found in the video below.

During the press conference, Burris said that pursuing justice for the alleged victims involved could be problematic due to the commonplace masking of some federal agents during operations.

"Officers cannot be identified. Unfortunately, it makes it more difficult for us because doing this case, we'll have to now figure out if we're going to identify the individual officers for the individual cases that we have," Burris said. "We'd rather have the individual officer accountable as well as the government. We've had to file complaints against a number of different federal agencies for the same individual act. Hopefully, in time, we'll be able to identify the individual office, the individual agency and individual officer."

What we don't know:

Attorneys have said the lawsuits have not been officially filed yet, but that the process is underway. Attorneys have also not yet provided a breakdown of which specific agencies the complaints will be filed against.

Representatives with DHS have not yet responded back to a request for comment.

Immigration enforcement in Minnesota

The backstory:

Operation Metro Surge and Operation PARRIS lasted more than 10 weeks, and at its peak involved more than 3,000 agents across the state.

At least 2,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and at least 1,000 Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers were part of the operations that were promoted to target both illegal immigration and fraud in the state.

In its wake, three people were shot – Renee Good and Alex Pretti fatally – by federal officials, prompting nationwide protest and outrage.

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