In the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti, elected officials across the country are taking steps to hold federal immigration agents accountable if they overstep their lawful authority in local jurisdictions.
Fresno, California, Mayor Jerry Dyer, a former police chief, said during a Wednesday press conference at the start of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting that the mayors group is asking the Trump administration to hold federal immigration agents accountable and “make sure that they're getting the training that they need to go out and do their job effectively to become a welcomed presence in neighborhoods.”
“Quite frankly, I think that ship has sailed right now,” Dyer said, “and we need to take a breath in America and maybe cause [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to pull back, regroup, retrain and then maybe approach us from a different stance. And I think from a mayor's perspective, we have to make sure that we have that voice heard.”
A national coalition of nine local prosecutors — including district attorneys from Dallas, Minneapolis and Philadelphia — announced Wednesday that they have formed Fight Against Federal Overreach, “an effort to hold federal officials accountable when they exceed their lawful authority, especially in states around the country where federal agents are being surged,” according to a press release.
“We’re in perilous times,” Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot said Wednesday during a press conference introducing FAFO. “Never in my life and never in my 43 years of practicing law have I seen federal law enforcement or even local law enforcement weaponized against American citizens, otherwise peaceful individuals.”
Creuzot said the coalition is “coming together to show unity, to educate the American people, to educate law enforcement to let them know that this concept of absolute immunity does not exist and that you are committing state crimes when you shoot someone in an unjustified manner, and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The California State Senate on Tuesday passed the No Kings Act, which allows Californians to sue federal officers who violate their constitutional rights. Similar legislation has been introduced in Maryland, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia.
“Local police officers are already accountable when they violate people’s constitutional rights, and it’s outrageous that federal agents aren’t accountable,” Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who introduced the bill, said in a statement. “The No Kings Act will close that loophole and hold federal agents accountable for this brutality. These agents must face real consequences for terrorizing our communities.”
Illinois passed a similar law restricting immigration enforcement and making it easier for residents to sue federal immigration agents in December. The Department of Justice sued the state, calling it an “unconstitutional attempt to regulate law enforcement officers.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom Tuesday issued a bulletin reminding state and local law enforcement “of their concurrent jurisdiction to investigate potential state law crimes committed by federal agents,” according to a press release.
“Recent events in Minnesota have made clear” that federal and state collaboration in criminal investigations can no longer be expected, Bonta said in a statement. “This reality does not change our responsibility to conduct a thorough, independent investigation of potential state law crimes, and I promise that my office will do just that.”
Bonta is leading a coalition of 20 state attorneys general who filed an amicus brief Friday supporting Minnesota’s lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s surge of federal immigration agents into Minnesota’s Twin Cities area.
The Department of Homeland Security “has set in motion an extraordinary campaign of recklessness and disregard for the norms of constitutional policing and the sanctity of life,” the brief states.
In Minnesota, 13 suburban communities have formed a coalition to support inner-city communities in Minneapolis and St. Paul and develop strategies “around how we’re going to interact with the federal government, how we’re going to encourage the type of policing that should be occurring,” Edina, Minnesota, Mayor James Hovland said during the U.S. Conference of Mayors press conference.
“There is random enforcement going on. I think it’s clear to say that there’s racial profiling going on,” Hovland said. “All these things that are unconstitutional are going on in Minnesota. And it can happen anywhere.”
