Minneapolis city leadership framed their opposition to federal immigration enforcement in terms of constitutional due process protections. Officials warned that planned operations would violate fundamental legal protections guaranteed to all people in America regardless of citizenship status.
Federal immigration authorities are preparing to deploy approximately 100 agents for enforcement operations in the metropolitan area. These coordinated actions would focus primarily on Somali nationals with deportation orders, but the methods of identifying and apprehending targets raise constitutional questions about due process.
Presidential statements have characterized Somali immigrants broadly in negative terms, with the administration’s leader expressing during a cabinet meeting that he wants them removed from America. The remarks did not distinguish between different legal statuses or acknowledge constitutional protections.
Minneapolis is home to approximately 80,000 Somali residents, most of whom are American citizens or legal residents with full constitutional rights. City officials warned that enforcement operations targeting people based on Somali appearance would necessarily violate due process protections through wrongful detention and discrimination.
Local leaders positioned themselves as defenders of constitutional principles for all residents. The mayor and police chief emphasized that due process protections apply to everyone in America, warned that planned enforcement would inevitably violate these protections, and declared their commitment to defending residents’ rights.