Two court hearings Monday could have major ramifications for President Trump's immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities, as well as state and local officials' push to investigate the death of Alex Pretti.
The big picture: Federal immigration agents have shot and killed two Minnesota citizens in recent weeks, inflaming local protests and a nationwide backlash against Trump's immigration enforcement tactics that have turned Minneapolis into a powder keg.
Driving the news: One federal judge will weigh whether the Trump administration's immigration surge is constitutional, and could ultimately halt it as state and local officials are requesting.
- Another judge will hold a hearing in a case over state access to evidence surrounding the death of Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse whom a federal immigration agent shot and killed Saturday.
Catch up quick: Pretti's killing came after a federal agent fatally shot Renee Good weeks earlier.
- The Trump administration demonized the victims in the aftermath, labeling them "domestic terrorists." They also allegedly restricted local and state agencies from investigating each incident, leading Minnesota officials to sue for access.
Here's what to know about the cases with hearings on Monday:
Twin Cities and state sue Trump administration
The state of Minnesota and lawyers for St. Paul and Minneapolis asked a judge to deem the federal immigration surge unconstitutional, according to a complaint filed earlier this month.
- The lawsuit argues that the federal crackdown is infringing on state authority and amounts to coercion, which the state and cities argue is a violation of the Tenth Amendment.
- "Defendants' actions force such an impermissible 'choice': use state and local law enforcement resources to carry out the federal government's civil immigration priorities or accept occupation by federal troops," the complaint reads.
- As noted by The New York Times, the suit does not seek to end all immigration enforcement in the state but rather targets the "unprecedented surge."
The other side: The federal government slammed the state argument as "absurdity" and "legally frivolous."
- They say the government's "Operation Metro Surge" has "succeeded" in seeing thousands arrested and is an exclusively federal mission to enforce federal law.
- Expelling federal officers from the state, the administration argued, would be "an unprecedented act of judicial overreach."
What we're watching: U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez, a Biden appointee, will hear arguments in the case Monday morning.
- She is also overseeing a separate case filed by Minnesota demonstrators who accused agents of violating their rights. She imposed restrictions, but an appeals court blocked her injunction.
Worth noting: Those cases both predate the fatal shooting of Renee Good, but the legal fights have drawn more attention since then.
Feds barred from "destroying" evidence
Over the weekend, U.S. District Court Judge Eric Tostrud, a Trump appointee, granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from "destroying or altering" evidence related to the fatal shooting of Pretti.
- At a Monday afternoon hearing, the government will have a chance to raise objections to that order.
What they're saying: Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to Axios Sunday that any claim the government would destroy evidence is "a ridiculous attempt to divide the American people and distract from the fact that our law enforcement officers were attacked."
Yes, but: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has already pledged a state investigation, blasting the federal government's accounts of Alex Pretti's final moments as false.
- The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Hennepin County Attorney's Office asked in a complaint filed Saturday for the court to declare the feds' restriction of state access to evidence unconstitutional.
Go deeper: Gun rights groups challenge shooting of legally armed Minneapolis man
