ACLU sues federal government over constitutional rights violations by agents in Minnesota

MINNESOTA (TNND) — The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a class action lawsuit on Thursday against the federal government on behalf of three Minnesotans “whose constitutional rights were violated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and other federal agents,” the ACLU of Minnesota announced.

The plaintiffs, two Somali men and one Latino man, are challenging the Trump administration’s policy of “racially profiling, unlawfully seizing, and unlawfully arresting people without a warrant and without probable cause,” a release read.

“This is a violation of Minnesotans’ constitutional rights to equal protection and against unreasonable seizures,” the ACLU added.

One of the men involved in the lawsuit, 20-year-old U.S. citizen from Somalia Mubashir Khalif Hussen, was walking to lunch in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood on Dec. 10, 2025, when multiple masked ICE agents stopped him, according to the release.

Hussen said he tried yelling, “I’m a citizen,” but they refused to look at his ID and drove him to a building where he was shackled before being let go.

“At no time did any officer ask me whether I was a citizen or if I had any immigration status,” Hussen explained. “They did not ask for any identifying information, nor did they ask about my ties to the community, how long I had lived in the Twin Cities, my family in Minnesota, or anything else about my circumstances.”

On Jan. 6, Hussen walked by ICE officers and protesters recording from a public sidewalk when a car with federal agents drove by and pepper-sprayed him in the face, according to the complaint.

The other two plaintiffs, Somali Minnesotan Mahamed Eydarus and Latino U.S. citizen Javier Doe, reported similar incidents of being arrested “based on racial profiling motivated by prejudice.”

The ACLU of Minnesota is seeking a motion for a preliminary injunction from a federal judge and an emergency order preventing federal agents from violating the constitutional rights of the state’s residents.

There is also an online form for Minnesotans to report instances of being “questioned, stopped, arrested, or detained by ICE where the officers did not have a warrant or where the encounter appeared to be the result of racial profiling.”

A Homeland Security spokesperson told WCCO the allegations are “disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE.”

“What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S. — NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity. Protected under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, DHS law enforcement uses ‘reasonable suspicion’ to make arrests,” the spokesperson said. “There are no ‘indiscriminate stops’ being made. The Supreme Court recently vindicated us on this question. DHS enforces federal immigration law without fear, favor, or prejudice.”