MN Attorney general unveils online form asking Minnesotans to share impacts of federal actions
ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Thursday, Jan. 15, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the launch of a form on the Minnesota Attorney General’s website that allows Minnesotans to share information about how they, or someone close to them, have been affected by federal actions in Minnesota, including those of the Department of Homeland Security.
The Attorney General’s office released a statement Thursday saying, “These incident reports may be critical in supporting Attorney General’s Office actions defending and enforcing Minnesota’s laws and defending the State of Minnesota against actions that violate the State’s rights under the Constitution and applicable federal law.”
Resident can report incident of constitutional rights violations such as:
- Racial profiling
- Excessive force
- Retaliation against protestors, observers, and media
- Business closures
- Reduced healthcare access
- Reduced education access
People can also report issues impacting public safety and civil liberties, federal funding cuts, federal grant terminations, terms and conditions tied to federal program participation, and other federal administrative actions.
“The surge of DHS agents into Minnesota has done tremendous harm to the people of Minnesota, and I urge those who have personally experienced or directly witnessed that harm to share their stories with my office,” said Attorney General Ellison. “What’s most useful to my office right now are experiences that are specific and as detailed and direct as possible. In order to highlight certain impacts in Court, we may need to speak with eyewitnesses or those directly involved, rather than just collecting stories you have heard secondhand. My team and I will use these stories and experiences to assist in our ongoing fight to end the federal surge in Minnesota and the chaos, pain, and violence it has caused.”
Ellison says his office may use submissions to the form in a variety of ways, including in the office’s ongoing lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security seeking to end Operation Metro Surge. Additional language options for this form will be added in the coming days.
The office asks that Minnesotans not share rumors, media reports, secondhand information they cannot verify, or social media posts documenting experiences they did not witness or personally experience.
The Attorney General’s Office cannot provide legal representation for individuals in immigration-related matters or provide references for private attorneys who do so, so the office also asks Minnesotans not submit requests of that nature through the form.
The form announced Thursday is separate from the portal hosted by Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for the purpose of collecting evidence regarding the killing of Renee Good. That portal is available here.
