Minnesota, Illinois Sue Trump Administration Over ICE Surge After Fatal Minneapolis Shooting

Minnesota and Illinois have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration following the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says the surge of ICE and DHS agents into the state has made communities less safe and violates the Constitution. State and city officials dispute federal claims about the shooting and accuse the administration of politically targeting Democratic-led states. The Trump administration insists the deployments are part of a lawful crackdown on illegal immigration and corruption.

The US states of Minnesota and Illinois on Monday initiated legal action against the administration of President Donald Trump following the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal agent in Minneapolis last week. The lawsuits come amid growing tension over the federal government’s recent deployment of immigration enforcement officers into states governed by Democrats, a move that has sparked accusations of constitutional violations and political targeting.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, while announcing the lawsuit, said the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to send a surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers into the state in recent days has undermined public safety rather than improved it. He argued that the presence of large numbers of federal agents has increased fear and instability within local communities.
Speaking at a press conference, Ellison said that thousands of armed federal agents, whom he described as poorly trained and aggressive, had moved into neighborhoods across the state. He criticized what he characterized as an overwhelming and intimidating show of force, saying that the deployment has caused serious harm to Minnesota and its residents.
Ellison described the operation as a “federal invasion” of Minnesota and the Twin Cities, stressing that the mass presence of armed and masked Department of Homeland Security agents was unacceptable and must be brought to an end. He accused the federal government of overstepping its authority and disregarding the rights of the state and its citizens.
The attorney general further alleged that Democratic-led Minnesota was being deliberately targeted because of its democratic values and its disagreements with the federal government. He said the actions taken by the Trump administration amounted to violations of the US Constitution and existing federal laws.
The legal action follows the killing of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, who was shot and killed by a federal immigration officer during an operation in Minneapolis last week. Federal authorities claimed that Good had driven her vehicle toward the officer, prompting the use of lethal force. However, local officials have strongly challenged this account, citing video evidence that appears to show Good’s car turning away from the agent at the time of the shooting.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also questioned the rationale behind the federal enforcement operation, arguing that if the primary goal was to locate undocumented immigrants, Minneapolis would not be a logical focus. He pointed out that states such as Florida, Texas and Utah, which are controlled by Republicans, have larger undocumented populations than Minnesota.
Frey suggested that the choice to concentrate enforcement efforts in Minnesota raised questions about political motivation, particularly given that other states with higher numbers of undocumented residents were not subjected to the same level of federal intervention.
President Trump’s Republican administration has in recent months deployed federal law enforcement officers to several cities and states largely governed by Democrats. The administration has defended these actions as part of a broader crackdown on illegal immigration and corruption, arguing that strong federal intervention is necessary to enforce the law and protect American citizens.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem responded to criticism of the deployments by accusing Democratic officials of failing to protect their residents. In a post on the social media platform X, Noem said that what she described as corrupt and activist politicians had refused to act and were now proposing illegal measures to maintain control and continue defrauding American citizens.
Noem said the administration was determined to eliminate what she called widespread fraud, arrest criminal undocumented immigrants who she claimed were harming Americans without consequence, and hold accountable anyone who aided or supported such criminal activity.
Ellison’s lawsuit names Noem and several other senior officials in the Trump administration as defendants. The suit asks the court to rule that the surge of immigration enforcement officers into Minnesota is unconstitutional and to halt the operation.
The lawsuit filed by Illinois advances similar arguments and seeks comparable legal remedies, signaling a coordinated challenge by Democratic-led states against the federal government’s immigration enforcement strategy.