BY ED FELIEN
Dear Chief O’Hara
I think Omar Fateh and Jason Chavez were being a little rough on you last month. They didn’t want you assisting ICE in their unconstitutional sweeps of the Latin neighborhood around Lake and Bloomington. Perhaps it’s these rose-colored glasses I wear, but I thought you weren’t assisting ICE, but you were trying to get them to leave the neighborhood before the confrontation between ICE and the community turned violent.
Last month, when I wrote to you, I said:
“I sent this to the Mayor and City Council Members:
“’Attention Mayor and Members of the Minneapolis City Council:
“’The City must ask Attorney General Keith Ellison to get a federal injunction prohibiting U.S. Marshalls and ICE from entering the City in military formation without the express permission of the Mayor. Direct and immediate action is our best hope in preventing Trump from staging a military occupation and coup in Minneapolis. Members of the military and law enforcement officers must be informed that any violation of this federal court order would be a felony and punishable by a term in prison.”
“Federal forces must act in cooperation with local law enforcement officers. That means they have to check in with you. That means they must have verifiable warrants for specific suspected criminals. That means, based on their past history of violating the basic civil rights of the people of Minneapolis, you must dispatch MPD officers to accompany these federal officers to insure the peace of our community is not unduly disturbed.
“And more than anything else, that means you will not allow federal forces to deny to all the people of Minneapolis their basic Constitutional right to due process.
MIRAC members protesting ICE raids at the Whipple Building
“We believe you meant it when you swore to Protect and Serve all the people of Minneapolis.”
After publishing my last love letter to you, Judge Frimpong ruled last month in Los Angeles that ICE had acted unconstitutionally in rounding up immigrants; that stops based on race or language must be backed by reasonable suspicion; that detentions near work pickup zones are not allowed without additional legal grounds; that ICE must ensure that detainees have access to attorneys; that detainees must have free phone calls and daily access to legal representation.
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution says, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
This means everyone in the United States, not just U.S. citizens, has a right to due process. ICE cannot stop or arrest someone just because of the way they look or speak.
I believe you know that, and I believe you will do your best to protect and serve all the people of Minneapolis and insure their right to due process is protected.
On July 14 there was a large demonstration at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis where members of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) described how their members have tried to protect immigrants from being detained by ICE when they show up for their immigration hearing. Mira Altobell-Resendez from MIRAC said, “We’ve all seen horrifying videos of plain-clothes ICE agents kidnapping people off the streets all over the country. They are also doing that right here in Minnesota, on the streets and also inside the Whipple Federal Building. We demand that ICE get out of the courts and out of Minnesota!”
Progressive members of the City Council don’t want the MPD to assist ICE in their raids. Neither do I, but I do want the MPD to protect the constitutional rights of all the people of Minneapolis.
Battle lines have been drawn.
Chief O’Hara, we need to know which side you’re on.
