type: timeline_event
The ACLU of Minnesota, American Civil Liberties Union, Covington & Burling LLP, Greene Espel PLLP, and Robins Kaplan LLP filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court challenging systematic racial profiling and constitutional violations by ICE and CBP during Operation Metro Surge. The complaint alleges that "masked federal agents in the thousands are violently stopping and arresting countless Minnesotans based on nothing more than their race and perceived ethnicity irrespective of their citizenship or immigration status."
The lawsuit details cases of U.S. citizens detained based solely on appearance. Plaintiff Mubashir Khalif Hussen, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen, was stopped while walking to lunch in Cedar-Riverside, repeatedly stating "I'm a citizen" while agents refused to look at his ID. Agents drove him to the Whipple building, shackled him, took his fingerprints, and only released him after seeing his passport photo. Mahamed Eydarus, 25, was confronted by masked ICE agents while shoveling snow with his mother, demanded to prove legal status. A Latino plaintiff identified as "Javier" was tackled in a Target entrance, with an agent pressing a knee on his neck.
According to sworn declarations, 100 percent of those detained in the cases reviewed had legal status or status pending. Physical force used included handcuffs, shackles, headlocks, and weapons pointed at civilians, with federal agents wearing masks in most or all cases. The lawsuit seeks to block federal agencies from continuing these practices and requires expunging records from unlawful stops. DHS called the allegations "disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE," claiming agents use "reasonable suspicion" rather than racial profiling.