Twin Cities law enforcement leaders say they’ve received a surge of complaints from U.S. citizens being stopped and questioned by federal immigration agents without cause.
Leaders of several local departments are warning the encounters are undermining public trust and raising civil rights concerns.
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley, Saint Paul Police Chief Axel Henry and Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt were among those who spoke Tuesday at a news conference in the Minnesota Capitol rotunda. All three said they support lawful immigration enforcement but are calling for stronger oversight after what they described as a shift in federal tactics over the past two weeks.
“We as law enforcement community have been receiving endless complaints about civil rights violations in our streets from U.S. citizens,” Bruley said. “What we're hearing is they're being stopped in traffic stops or on the street with no cause and being forced to demand paperwork to determine if they are here legally.”
Bruley said local departments began hearing similar accounts from their own off-duty officers.
“Every one of these individuals is a person of color who has had this happen to them,” Bruley said Tuesday.
He described one incident involving an off-duty Brooklyn Park officer who he said was stopped after passing immigration agents while driving.
“When they boxed (the off-duty officer) in, they demanded her paperwork, of which she's a U.S. citizen and clearly would not have any paperwork,” Bruley said. The officer attempted to record the encounter on her phone but it was “knocked out of her hands, preventing her from recording.”
Witt said the actions being described risk undoing progress made since 2020. “Since that time, local law enforcement has been doing the hard necessary work to rebuild trust within our communities,” she said. “What's going on now is stifling that progress.”
She called for accountability from federal agencies: “We demand more from our federal government, more professionalism, more accountability, more humanity,” Witt said. “We demand lawful policing that respects human dignity.”
During questions, Bruley said he does not believe the conduct is being directed from Washington but acknowledged he has no direct proof: “What actual evidence do I have? None other than agents that I've talked to,” he said. Bruley added that some federal leaders may not fully understand the impact of what’s actually happening on the ground.
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The chiefs said they are calling for more supervision of the federal surge and a clear path forward that allows immigration enforcement to continue lawfully without sweeping up citizens or fueling fear.
“We are trying to come together to say, ‘can we please find a pathway forward?’” Henry said. “Can we find a way to make sure that we can do these things without scaring the hell out of our community members?”
Authorities have not released the identities of the off-duty officers referenced during the news conference.
