Last update: April 26, 2007 – 2:15 PM

Hearing on immigration raids underway


By Jean Hopfensperger hopfen@startribune.com, Star Tribune


A federal judge rejected a court petition to stop immigration agents from repeating the tactics they employed during a large-scale raid in Willmar earlier this month. But she allowed a lawsuit stemming from the raid to move forward.
Attorneys for about two dozen Latino residents who were caught up in the door-to-door searches for illegal immigrants had asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

They charged that immigration agents failed to show search warrants, forced their way into homes, and engaged in racial profiling when it interrogated city residents last month.

U.S. District Court Judge Ann Montgomery denied the petition. But the lawsuit raises some serious issues over possible violations of constitutional rights, she said.

"I'm very concerned about the nature of the allegations," she said.

The legal action in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis followed a large-scale search for illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds or deportation orders earlier this month in Willmar.

"Operation Cross Check" concluded on Friday, April 13, and resulted in the arrests of 49 illegal immigrants.

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1146203.html