The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota (ACLU) served a lawsuit Thursday against a Minnesota county over its sheriff’s agreement with federal immigration officials, arguing that it violates Minnesota law.
The ACLU is suing Freeborn County in southern Minnesota on behalf of four county residents over its cooperation agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The county is one of eight in Minnesota with 287g agreements, named for a clause in an immigration law, that formalizes cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials.
The program allows ICE to delegate some immigration enforcement functions to state and local law enforcement agencies. But the ACLU argues that such agreements frequently violate Minnesota law by having jails hold people suspected in non-immigration cases longer than normal so ICE can apprehend them for immigration reasons.
“The program undermines public safety by eroding trust, encourages racial profiling, exposes counties to liability and deters immigrants and families from interfacing with law enforcement,” ACLU Executive Director Deepinder Mayell said at a press conference.
Freeborn County’s jail in Albert Lea has a longstanding agreement with ICE to hold immigration detainees; it’s one of three jails in the state that houses immigration inmates. In March, Freeborn County Sheriff Ryan Shea entered a 287g agreement with ICE independent of the county board of commissioners, who later ratified the agreement.
The ACLU’s clients argue that Freeborn County is misusing their tax dollars in the agreements. The 287g program does not compensate participating agencies.
“Freeborn County has plenty of needs, and I am willing to pay for most of them, but an unlawful agreement with ICE that spends uncompensated county tax dollars for our jail officers to work as ICE agents is not one of them,” plaintiff Jeremey Corey-Gruenes said in a statement.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a Dec. 12 legal opinion that declared sheriffs are not allowed to enter 287g agreements without prior approval from a county board. The opinion also declares that a 287g agreement does not authorize state law enforcement to hold people on immigration detainers, which federal agencies issue when they want to apprehend someone in state or local custody. These detainers typically last 48 hours and are considered to be requests.
ACLU Legal Director Teresa Nelson said even though state law bans holding inmates additional days for ICE, there are credible reports that it’s happening.
“State and local law enforcement who have signed these agreements are essentially joining the ranks of ICE to perform civil immigration services for the federal government,” Nelson said.
Reached by phone Thursday, Freeborn County Attorney David Walker said he had yet to be served with the lawsuit and that he typically doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit Wednesday against ICE and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, accusing federal immigration officials of violating the first and fourth amendment rights of Minnesotans documenting ICE actions. The two lawsuits are linked, Mayell said.
“To protect all of our constitutional rights, the ACLU is taking a multipronged approach,” Mayell said.
A controversial program
Freeborn is one of eight Minnesota counties to enter 287g agreements this year. Cass, Crow Wing, Itasca, Kandiyohi, Mille Lacs and Sherburne counties currently have agreements. Like Freeborn, Kandiyohi and Sherburne counties have separate agreements with ICE to house immigration detainees.
The 287g program has three models. Two of them, the “warrant service officer” and “jail enforcement” models, focus on identifying and processing immigrants eligible for deportation who are already in state or local custody. The jail enforcement model additionally allows local officers to question suspected immigrants about their legal status.
A third model, the “task force model,” enlists local agencies to serve as what ICE calls a “force multiplier” to enforce some immigration statutes.
Freeborn County has a warrant service model, which allows deputies to serve and execute administrative warrants on immigrants already in custody.
Four Minnesota counties—Cass, Crow Wing, Itasca and Mille Lacs—have task force model agreements.
“This lawsuit should serve as a strong message to other counties,” Nelson said.
The 287g program has a history of generating complaints of racial profiling. In 2012, the Obama administration ended the use of the task force model of the program over concerns that local sheriff’s offices were targeting Latino Americans. President Donald Trump signed an executive order reopening the task force program the day he took office.
