ICE claims about vehicle attacks 'difficult' to believe, says federal judge
ICE vehicle attacks ‘difficult’ to believe, federal judge rules
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims ICE agents are being attacked during immigration operations, but a federal judge has previously ruled on similar claims made in Chicago last year, saying they were "difficult, if not impossible, to believe."
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims ICE agents are being attacked by drivers who are following them during immigration operations, but a federal judge said similar claims made in Chicago last year were "difficult, if not impossible, to believe."
What we know:
DHS has repeatedly claimed that ICE agents are being attacked with vehicles during immigration operations.
"It's clear that is being coordinated," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said last week. "People are being trained and told how to use their vehicles to impede law enforcement operations."
Noem accused Renee Good, the driver killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis last week, of "stalking" and attacking the agent before he shot her through the driver’s side window.
"It's very clear that this individual was harassing and impeding law enforcement operations," Noem said.
ICE and immigration agents made similar claims during operations in Chicago last year.
But after a federal judge reviewed evidence in those cases, she found many of those claims were "difficult, if not impossible to believe," according to court records reviewed by the FOX 9 Investigators.
DHS claimed immigration agents were rammed "every day" during Operation Midway Blitz.
To prove this, DHS provided the court with body camera videos from a particular day to show that agents "faced constant danger from cars ramming them on purpose."
But instead of showing that, U.S. District Judge Sarah Ellis said the video "suggests that the agent drove erratically and brake-checked other motorists in an attempt to force accidents that agents could then use as justifications for deploying force."
Local perspective:
Drivers have made similar allegations against ICE and immigration agents in the Twin Cities metro area in recent days.
Witnesses claimed an ICE vehicle caused an accident last Friday after it slammed on its brakes on Blake Road just south of the Knollwood Mall.
A woman, recording on her cell phone, yelled at one of the agents, "shame on you" and "get a real job" as agents removed two people from the car who claimed to be citizen observers.
Before ripping the phone out of her hands, the agent asked the woman, "Have you all not learned from the past couple of days?"
Immigration agents have been followed, recorded, and, at times, heckled as they continued to carry out operations after last week’s deadly shooting.
DHS Secretary Noem said this past weekend that hundreds of additional agents are being sent to Minnesota to help protect ICE and border patrol operations.
"If they conduct violent activities against law enforcement, if they impede our operations, that’s a crime, and we will hold them accountable to those consequences," Noem said.
Dig deeper:
Noem and other officials from the Trump Administration continue to claim the driver killed by ICE last week committed an act of "domestic terrorism" by attacking the agent with her vehicle.
DHS said the same about a driver in Chicago who was shot numerous times by immigration agents last fall.
"I would be very suspect of any press release that is put out right now by DHS," said attorney Christopher Parente.
His client was accused of ramming into a federal agent’s vehicle and charged with assault with a dangerous or deadly weapon.
Federal prosecutors dropped the charge after reviewing body camera video.
"And they’re still calling her a domestic terrorist," Parente told the FOX 9 Investigators last week. "What the government puts out is objectively not true in these cases."
In Chicago, the federal judge who challenged DHS about the alleged attacks acknowledged that agents had dealt with aggressive drivers at times, but found that was not the norm in the videos she reviewed.
Instead, she found agents often treated cars that were merely following "but not driving aggressively as potential threats."
Judge Ellis reviewed internal DHS records, depositions and numerous body camera videos from immigration agents before issuing a ruling upholding a temporary restraining order as part of a lawsuit filed against the Trump Administration by journalists and religious leaders in Chicago.
State leaders suing Trump to end ICE surge
The State of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration to end the recent ICE surge in the Twin Cities. Attorney General Keith Ellison, acting on behalf of the state, filed the lawsuit on Monday along with both Twin Cities. The lawsuit names Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem, ICE Director Todd Lyons, and Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino among other federal officials.
What's next:
DHS is facing a similar lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Minnesota, where ICE agents are accused of harassing and intimidating people observing immigration operations.
DHS officials are expected back in court tomorrow for the ACLU lawsuit after a previous hearing was abruptly canceled in the wake of last week’s deadly shooting.
On Monday, the Minnesota Attorney General filed a separate lawsuit also seeking a temporary injunction against DHS.