The chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court recently denied a request from a group of lawyers to issue a statewide policy or order to prevent arrests made at courthouses by the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE).
The letter, sent to Chief Justice Natalie Hudson on March 5, said ICE agents have made at least 10 arrests in one month on the grounds of the Hennepin County Government Center by waiting near its entrances. The arrests targeted multiple people making first appearances on misdemeanor charges.
“They have already caused significant harm by making Minnesotans afraid to attend state court proceedings,” the letter said.
The letter was signed by a wide range of legal organizations, including prosecutors and defense attorneys: the ACLU of Minnesota; the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office; the Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; the Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid; the Legal Rights Center; The Advocates for Human Rights; Violence Free Minnesota; the Binger Center for New Americans and the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota.
In a response dated March 27, Hudson did not directly respond to lawyers’ concerns and only said that “at this time,” the court would not issue any new statewide policy. She wrote that judges are responsible for order within their courtroom and sheriff’s deputies for keeping peace outside of it.
“The court has confidence in each county sheriff’s dedication to maintaining the safety and security of the state’s courtrooms and courthouses,” Hudson wrote.
The group of lawyers contended there is a long history of American courthouses operating while barring civil arrests – which would include arrests over immigration matters – on courthouse grounds. The letter said ICE previously had a policy in place since 2021 that forbade such tactics.
Andy Mannix of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this report.
