Minnesota sues Trump administration to block surge of ICE agents

The US state of Minnesota has sued the Trump administration in an attempt to block a surge of federal immigration agents into the state.

The lawsuit argues the deployment amounts to an unconstitutional "federal invasion". Minnesota's Attorney General Keith Ellison said immigration operations had upended life for millions and caused "chaos and violence".

It comes after the death of Renee Good, who was shot dead by an immigration agent in Minneapolis last week, triggering large protests.

The lawsuit asks a federal court to declare the deployment illegal. The Trump administration has said the agents are targeting undocumented migrants, and further agents are needed to ensure their safety.

In a news conference on Monday, Ellison said the deployment violated the state's "sovereign authority to protect the health and well-being of every single person who lives within our borders".

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey alleged that agents were illegally targeting people who they assumed to be immigrants based on racial profiling. He said their actions had led to an increase in calls to 911, and forced city police to work overtime to investigate incidents involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"The unlawful deployment of thousands of armed, masked, and poorly trained federal agents is hurting Minnesota," Ellison said.

He accused the Trump administration of "persecuting the state of Minnesota because of our political views". Democrats currently hold the governorship and control the state legislature.

According to the lawsuit, Minneapolis police worked more than 3,000 hours of overtime between 7-9 January, costing the state more than $2m (£1.5m).

It comes as the US Department of Homeland Security says it plans to send more agents into the state as part of its Operation Metro Surge.

The department says the deployment is necessary to combat illegal immigration and crime. According to recent estimates, around 2,000 agents have been deployed to Minnesota.

Over the weekend, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News that "hundreds more" will be sent to the area "in order to allow our ICE and our Border Patrol individuals that are working in Minneapolis to do so safely".

The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago filed a similar lawsuit on Monday against what it called an "organized bombardment" by federal immigration agents.

The White House is yet to comment.

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