Minnesota launches investigation that could bring charges against US immigration officers

A Minnesota state prosecutor announced an investigation Monday that may lead to charges against federal officers, including Greg Bovino, for misconduct during an immigration enforcement crackdown.Hennepin County attorney Mary Moriarty said in a news conference that her office is already looking into 17 cases, including one where Bovino, a border patrol official, threw a smoke canister at protesters on 21 January.Her office is also investigating federal agents’ shooting deaths of 37-year-old US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti on 7 and 24 January. And she is “confident” they will be able to pursue charges in the cases which led to nationwide demonstrations and criticisms of federal immigration enforcement use-of-force policies.Another case on 7 January involved federal officers making an arrest outside a high school and deploying chemical irritants while students and staff were in the area.“Make no mistake – we are not afraid of the legal fight, and we are committed to doing this correctly,” Moriarty said. The immigration enforcement operation known as “Metro Surge caused immeasurable harm to our community.”The DHS, which oversees immigration enforcement, responded in a statement Monday night that such enforcement is a federal responsibility and states cannot prosecute federal officers.“What these states are trying to do is unlawful, and they know it,” the statement said. “Federal officials acting in the course of their duties are immune from liability under state law.”The statement added that local officials should instead consider how their actions have endangered federal law enforcement officers.A message to Bovino seeking his response was not immediately returned.Bovino, who emerged as a key figure in the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations, is known for bringing aggressive tactics to crackdowns in Minneapolis-St Paul, Chicago and Los Angeles. In Chicago, federal officers frequently deployed chemical irritants as crowd control measures in residential neighborhoods, and a judge ordered Bovino to wear a body camera and appear in court daily to answer questions about the crackdown. That order was overturned before his first mandated appearance.Officers at times took a forceful approach to corralling protesters in Minneapolis-St Paul and detained numerous people blowing whistles and recording arrests.Bovino was eventually removed from his leading role in the Minnesota effort after federal officers fatally shot Good and Pretti.Moriarty’s office has set up an online portal where photos, videos and eyewitness accounts from any point during Operation Metro Surge can be uploaded.The Trump administration has defended federal officers, but Moriarty is making clear that her office is “collecting evidence about all sorts of possible crimes”, said Rachel Moran, a professor of criminal law and policing at University of St Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis.In cases where officers unjustifiably used chemical weapons, threw people to the ground or smashed car windows, Moran said as examples, prosecutors may be investigating assault or property damage.“These would be situations where the state has to determine: is there evidence that agents acted unlawfully and outside the scope of their authorized duties?” Moran said. “I think agents did illegal things here. I watched it.”Though federal officers conducted immigration enforcement throughout the Twin Cities, Moriarty’s investigation will only focus on incidents in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis and many of its suburbs.She said Monday that her office is prepared to sue the federal government to get the evidence she has requested for the Good and Pretti investigations if she does not hear from them by Tuesday.“The question is, should we charge in federal court?” Moriarty said. “Do we expect the federal government to obstruct us? I would say they’re already doing that.”The justice department (DoJ) opened a civil rights inquiry into Pretti’s death but said it saw no reason for a civil rights investigation of Good’s death. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) barred state investigators from accessing evidence in her case.The DoJ and FBI did not immediately return requests for comment.While Moriarty addressed the challenges her office would face in bringing charges against federal agents, she said they are committed to transparency and accountability.Mark Osler, who served as director of the criminal division for a year under Moriarty in 2023 and 2024, said regardless of whether there are charges, he thinks the public can look forward to more clarity.“One of the most important roles that prosecution has … is truth-telling, is to bring to the surface what actually happened at a given time,” said Osler, who is a law professor at the University of St Thomas. “We’ll all know more than just what we saw in those initial videos by the time she’s done. I’m confident of that.”