New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s acting attorney general is making good on a vow to go after the Trump administration. Jennifer Davenport joined 21 other attorneys general in a letter to condemn what they called coercion by the Department of Justice.
In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the group criticized an alleged demand that Minnesota hand over data, like voter information, for the administration to dismiss ICE agents from Minneapolis and elsewhere.
The Trump administration denied that it made such a pitch. Trump officials are under court order to disclose the motivation behind ICE operations in Minnesota, where two U.S. citizens in the past month were shot to death by immigration agents. In a Jan. 16 statement, the White House said “the state’s Democrat politicians have repeatedly boasted of their so-called ‘sanctuary’ status, encouraged resistance and smeared ICE officers.”
Davenport and her peers said federal officials, not Minnesota, are in the wrong.
“Instead of working with state and local leaders to keep the public safe, the Trump Administration has sown chaos, stoked fear and undermined public safety in Minnesota at every turn,” Davenport said in a statement. “Now the Department of Justice is making things even worse, engaging in coercive tactics that are outrageous and that do nothing to promote public safety. I stand together with my fellow attorneys general in condemning the Trump Administration’s reckless targeting of Minnesotans, and I call on the Administration to end this shameful chapter immediately.”
The announcement comes as Sherrill, a former congresswoman who took office on Jan. 13, says her administration plans to create a portal for residents to upload cellphone video and report encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Minnesota protestors have made similar efforts.
Sherrill made the announcement on the Daily Show on Wednesday night. She added that she will prohibit ICE from staging raids on state property.
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