The Elicker administration has joined 37 other local governments from across the country in signing on to an amicus brief calling for the Trump administration to end its “unlawful deployment” of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. That 40-page brief was filed in the U. S. District Court of Minnesota last Thursday in the case of State of Minnesota v. Kristi Noem. Click here to read the brief in full. Mayor Justin Elicker’s office sent out an email press release Wednesday morning about the city’s joining of that amicus brief alongside municipalities like Boston, Albuquerque, Ann Arbor, Chicago, Los Angeles, Madison, Columbus, and Cincinnati, among others. Those 38 local governments — including New Haven’s — have thrown their support behind a lawsuit first filed by the State of Minnesota, the City of Minneapolis, and the City of Saint Paul against the Trump administration on Jan. 12. The underlying lawsuit concerns the federal government’s deployment of more than 3,000 armed federal immigration agents to the Twin Cities — a show of force that has sparked weeks of protests, and that has seen immigration authorities shoot and kill two civilians, both American citizens: Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Critics have lambasted the Trump administration’s moves as a violent military occupation sowing chaos in an American city. Supporters have credited the federal government for cracking down on illegal immigration, and have blamed local and state officials for not sufficiently cooperating with Trump’s agents. “What is happening in Minneapolis and the violence that is being perpetrated by ICE against Minnesotans is sickening and represents a grave threat to individuals and cities across the country,” Elicker is quoted as saying in Wednesday’s press release. “ICE’s illegal, immoral and inhumane actions and the federal government’s unlawful deployment in Minnesota must end. New Haven stands with Minneapolis whose residents are standing up for all of us in fighting back against the Trump Administration’s attacks on our values, citizens and immigrant neighbors.” The brief was filed by Public Rights Project, the City of Boston and MSB Employment Justice LLP on behalf of the City of New Haven and other municipal governments and local leaders. “Local governments shouldn’t have to govern under threat,” Public Rights Project CEO Jill Habig is quoted as saying in Wednesday’s press release. “Operation Metro Surge is a military occupation of an American city. Cities are standing together against this coercion campaign that spreads fear, diverts local resources and undermines public safety.” The filing marks the latest effort by the Elicker administration to challenge the Trump administration in federal court over policies ranging from the targeting of municipalities that adopt “Sanctuary City” immigration protections to the withholding of grants awarded by DHS and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The city has been represented pro bono in those cases by various legal nonprofits, including the Public Rights Project. The city’s announcement that it has joined this amicus brief comes a day after New Haven’s congresswoman, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, called for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to resign, be fired, or be impeached based on how she’s handled the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border patrol agents to Minnesota. “I have called for Kristi Noem to be removed as head of the Department of Homeland Security for months,” DeLauro wrote in a press release on Tuesday. “Her tenure has been marked by failure after failure. Instead of enforcing our laws, she has lied to the American people, attacked our core values of freedom of expression and assembly, and separated law abiding families with children as young as five ending up in ICE detention facilities. Americans are now dead because of her utter failure, and communities across the nation are suffering because of terror inflicted upon them by ICE. She has completely failed as one of our nation’s top law enforcement officials. She must immediately resign or be fired, and if she is not removed, I will support moving forward with impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.” New Haven’s other two federal representatives — U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy — have been equally outspoken in their criticism of the Trump administration after agents shot and killed Pretti, a 37-year-old veterans hospital ICU nurse, in Minneapolis on Saturday. In a statement sent out by email on Monday, Blumenthal described Pretti’s shooting death as a murder. “I am deeply saddened and outraged by the tragic death of Alex Pretti— a VA nurse who served Minnesota veterans in one of the most demanding VA health care jobs,” Blumenthal said. “He loved his job, his family, and his country. He was on the streets of Minneapolis Saturday morning peacefully protesting brutal, illegal ICE policies. My thoughts are with his family, friends, and coworkers at this painful moment. Alex’s service at VA deserves to be honored and elevated. “Congress must demand an independent investigation immediately. We need bipartisan calls for justice—now.” And in a Monday appearance on CNN, Murphy called for his legislative colleagues to vote against a DHS funding bill given the chaos that agency has fomented in Minnesota. “We cannot fund a Department of Homeland Security that is murdering American citizens,” Murphy said, “that is traumatizing little boys and girls all across the country in violation of the law.”  The post City Supports Minnesota’s Anti-ICE-Occupation Lawsuit appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less