Midwest
Sanctuary city lawyers plot to help illegal migrants evade ICE in exposed group email
EXCLUSIVE – Leaked emails to and from certain Minneapolis-area lawyers show attempts to actively thwart efforts from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to apprehend illegal immigrant defendants in the sanctuary city.
The emails were sent on Feb. 6 on a private listserv, or email list, that goes out to several hundred members of the Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL), according to a member who spoke to Fox News Digital on the condition of anonymity.
The same day, progressive Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a formal legal opinion that state law “prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from holding someone based on an immigration detainer if the person would otherwise be released from custody,” a press release from the AG’s office states.
“ICE at the PSF,” one subject line states, possibly referring to the Public Safety Facility. “LRC just got word that plain clothes ICE officers have been spotted at the Hennepin County PSF today. Let’s do all we can to keep our clients safe in these difficult times,” the corresponding email reads.
‘SANCTUARY’ CITY MAYOR CONFRONTED AFTER GANG MEMBER ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTS FEDERAL OFFICERS
ICE at the PCF email screenshot (Handout)
Numerous responses from other attorneys ensued, with many suggesting lawyers request Zoom hearings for illegal immigrant defendants so that they do not have to appear in court in person and can therefore avoid ICE officers.
Various sanctuary city officials have made concerted efforts to push back against the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration since he took office in January. President Donald Trump has signed a slew of executive orders aiming to streamline efforts by ICE and other law enforcement agencies to carry out the detention and removal process.
A recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) directive rescinds the previous Biden administration’s guidelines preventing ICE and Customs and Border Protection officers from enforcing the law in “sensitive” areas.
CHICAGO PD SAYS IT ‘WILL NOT ASSIST’ WITH UPCOMING ICE DEPORTATIONS
“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens – including murderers and rapists – who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” a DHS spokesperson said in a Jan. 21 statement. “The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.
Nearly 1,000 people were arrested on Jan. 27, according to the ICE. (ICE)
“The Biden-Harris Administration abused the humanitarian parole program to indiscriminately allow 1.5 million migrants to enter our country. This was all stopped on day one of the Trump Administration. This action will return the humanitarian parole program to its original purpose of looking at migrants on a case-by-case basis,” the spokesperson added.
RED STATE LEADER CALLS FOR STATES TO STAND BEHIND TRUMP’S BAN ON FUNDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
Ronnie Santana with Tamburino Law Group replied, “I was thinking we may want to have a conversation within the organization about pooling together [a]nd asking to convert hearings to [Z]oom for clients that we think would be targeted by ICE.” (Handout)
On the Minnesota email list, Ronnie Santana with Tamburino Law Group said, “I was thinking we may want to have a conversation within the organization about pooling together [a]nd asking to convert hearings to [Z]oom for clients that we think would be targeted by ICE.”
Santana did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.
JaneAnne Murray with Murray Law LLC said in the email thread that she “called the court’s clerk and orally requested a [Z]oom appearance.”
“I explained the immigration circumstances and why I don’t want to lay them all out in a motion that may get reviewed by ICE. Shortly thereafter, I got an email authorizing my client to appear by [Z]oom (I must appear in person). Prosecutor was copied on the email but not consulted on the request,” Murray said.
Murray did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.
DENVER MAYOR GRILLED OVER AREA’S TREN DE ARAGUA PROBLEM AS GOP LAWMAKER SAYS POLICIES TO BLAME
Murray later followed up on her email and said she “called the court’s clerk and orally requested a [Z]oom appearance.” (Handout)
Barry Cattadoris with the Third Judicial District Public Defender’s Office said “select judges in the Third Judicial District Court proactively reached out to the PD’s office,” possibly referring to the public defender’s office, “to state that they encourage [Z]oom requests on any cases with immigration issues for State and Defense in light of ICE showing up at courthouses and that requests will be ‘liberally’ granted.”
“So ask for Zoom!!!!!” Cattadoris wrote.
Cattadoris noted that while he hasn’t “practiced in Hennepin in over 10 years,” he recalled that emails “are not always scanned and put in a formal court file.” He noted in a later email that the illegal immigrants he has seen detained in the Third Judicial District “since January 20th have been 1) No lawful status and 2) facing more serious charges.”
“But have seen folks with no convictions and just pending serious charges,” Cattadoris added.
YOUNG FATHER KILLED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HIGHLIGHTS ‘BETRAYAL’ OF SANCTUARY CITIES, SAYS REPUBLICAN
Cattadoris did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.
Barry Cattadoris with the Third Judicial District Public Defender’s Office said “select judges in the Third Judicial District Court proactively reached out to the PD’s office,” possibly referring to the public defender’s office, “to state that they encourage [Z]oom requests on any cases with immigration issues for State and Defense in light of ICE showing up at courthouses and that requests will be ‘liberally’ granted.” (Handout)
One attorney suggested that it is “probably best to find a reason to request remote that doesn’t explicitly state immigration issues.” Another recommended “saying it’s an interpreter case and interpreters are more effective on [Z]oom.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE
ACLU attorney Alicia Granse wrote, “Speaking of ICE… We at ACLU-MN are interested in protecting people from their presence at courthouses and at jails.”
ICE is conducting flights to remove illegal immigrants from the U.S. and back to their home countries. (ICE Seattle)
“At minimum, no official should be holding someone based simply on an ICE detainer – they need a judicial warrant based on probable cause,” Granse continued. “If you have clients who have ICE holds and county officials or other law enforcement are honoring them, please email me… We might like to sue the crap out of them.”
CHICAGO ALDERMAN SAYS MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON CAN’T DEFEND SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES
“Previous cases we got good settlements for people and there’s even a permanent injunction against Nobles County for holding someone for ICE,” Granse said.
Granse did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.
ACLU attorney Alicia Granse wrote, “Speaking of ICE… We at ACLU-MN are interested in protecting people from their presence at courthouses and at jails.” (Handout)
Local officials are under no obligation to coordinate with federal officials insofar as holding illegal immigrants based on a detainer.
A January memo from ICE states that “generally, ICE’s immigration enforcement actions in our near courthouses include actions against targeted aliens,” including gang members, national security or public safety threats, those with prior criminal convictions, those who have been ordered to be removed from the United States “but have failed to depart,” and those who illegally re-entered the country after being previously deported.
ICE agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, attend a pre-enforcement meeting in Chicago on Jan. 26, 2025. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
George Washington University law professor and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital the “emails suggest that the sole reason for converting hearings into virtual appearances is to evade ICE enforcement,” which “will raise a serious legal question over the proper use of court resources and orders.”
“There is a legitimate debate over whether ICE should target those seeking judicial review in their cases,” Turley said. “Few immigrants will want to risk a hearing if they will be detained as a cost of appearing. However, if ICE has a right to access, the use of virtual hearings to prevent federal authorities could cross the Rubicon for some judges as an improper use of state authority to deter federal enforcement.”
“If there is a legal impediment for ICE to appear at hearings, the parties should ask for a court order of protection and allow the matter to be reviewed by appellate courts,” Turley added.
Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital the MACDL emails “will raise a serious legal question over the proper use of court resources and orders.” (Fox News)
As of publication, officials have not taken any legal action stemming from the emails on the grounds that the correspondence represents an active effort to frustrate law enforcement, and none of the MACDL members who sent the aforementioned emails have been charged with any crime.
A subsection of Title 8 makes it illegal to harbor illegal immigrants. Specifically, Title 8, U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii) “makes it an offense for any person who – knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation.”
Another subsection of the same law “expressly makes it an offense to engage in a conspiracy to commit or aid or abet the commission of” harboring an illegal immigrant.
Additionally, 18 U.S.C. § 1346 makes it an offense to “scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services.” Honest services fraud involves “the misuse of an individual’s position or authority for personal gain or advantage,” according to Eisner Gorin LLP. “It can be committed by public officials, corporate officers, and private individuals with fiduciary duties to another person or entity.”
The Department of Homeland Security logo is seen during a news conference in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
In 2019, charges were filed against Massachusetts Judge Shelley Joseph, who was accused of impeding the federal arrest of an illegal immigrant defendant in her courtroom. Prosecutors dropped the charges in 2022 after Trump left office, but the scrutiny did not end there. The Massachusetts Judicial Conduct Commission filed an ethics complaint against Joseph in 2024, according to Reuters.
While none of the MACDL members who sent the emails responded to Fox News Digital, the association sent an email to members following Fox’s inquiries, stating: “The author(s) of the email(s) did not consent to having their statements or advice disseminated beyond our organization and are now being asked for comment for a story. We are angered and feel betrayed on behalf of the impacted people.”
Trump’s recent immigration-related executive orders include declaring a national emergency at the border, halting refugee resettlement, ordering a removal process without asylum and border wall reconstruction, and deploying the military to the border.
As of Jan. 31, ICE has arrested 7,412 illegal immigrants and placed nearly 6,000 ICE detainers on individuals believed to be in the country illegally.
Read the full article from Here
BISMARCK — North Dakota is experiencing losses on nearly every commodity outside of beef and cattle and the state is working toward finding solutions to the ongoing loss of cropland value. At the same time, costs have increased at a faster rate than farmers are used to. North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring describes it as “death by a thousand paper cuts.”
“It’s not any one thing that’s taking farmers to their knees,” he said. “I needed to get a certain sensor in the fuel pump and that fall before COVID, we were coming out of a kind of a tough year and it was $1,700. I said, ‘Let’s just wait and put it in next spring.’ Well, next spring came around and it was $3,200. I mean, holy cow. And nothing changed. So, there just seems to be some opportunistic type of practices going on.”
Rules and regulations don’t seem to be helping. For Goehring, a look at certain regulations would be a good step. One example is the Regional Haze Rule adopted by the EPA in 1999, mandating that states develop and implement air quality protection plans to reduce the pollution that causes visibility impairment. North Dakota, with a clean coal emission in place and operating at 19 parts per million, was disadvantaged.
“You had air emission standards in Pennsylvania that were operating at 200. Then the memorandum came from the administration and EPA that you had to cut those emissions in half. How the heck do you cut 19 or 18 parts per million in half?” he said.
American culture has brought more hurdles, too.
Tom Campbell, USDA state director for Rural Development, notes the rise of GLP-1 drugs. People are eating less sugar, bread and starches, which could be hitting some key sectors regionally. Combined with rising expenses and fixed costs, it becomes a “double whammy.”
“You have to harvest everything, and hopefully we can get some big yields to offset some of the losses,” Campbell said, noting that weight-loss drugs may be “changing habits” among consumers.
“… I don’t know if it’s for sure or not, but we’re concerned about the future there, too.”
A bright spot for the region, but an unfortunate development for others, is drought in the Pacific Northwest. Low moisture levels there have added dollars to other markets.
“Unfortunately, somebody else’s disaster is our benefit. But, usually, that’s what it takes: somebody else’s problems to fix our problems,” Campbell said.
With prices, it’s a waiting game. High prices are generally thought to correct themselves with low demand. What can be controlled, Goehring believes, is the way rules and regulations are considered.
Measurable outcomes could give detailed accounts of the domino effect that takes place with either implementing regulations or taking them away.
“There has to be some measurable difference on a basis at which the public can derive some value from a rule or regulation that goes in place. Because every one of them is impacting our daily lives, whether it’s at home, on the road or in our businesses,” Goehring said.
Digital Content Producer and Sports Reporter at the Grand Forks Herald since December of 2020. Maxwell can be contacted at mmarko@gfherald.com.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — As concerns have grown over the impact of social media on young people, lawmakers are pushing to keep protections in tact to keep children safe online.
This week the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Ohio’s law, the Social Media Parental Notification Act, requiring parental consent for children under the age of 16 to use social media must be restored. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the act into law in July 2023.
Netchoice, the trade group that represents Tik Tok, Snapchat, Meta and other tech companies contested Ohio’s law in 2024, arguing that it was overly broad, vague and represented an unconstitutional impediment to free speech.
“An unconstitutional law protects no one, and we remain focused on ensuring the First Amendment rights of Ohioans are protected,” Paul Taske, NetChoice Litigation Center Director said.
Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit’s panel does not agree with this view point, determined that the law is not unconstitutional and had the block on the law’s enforcement vacated.
“At bottom, the Act imposes a parental consent requirement,” Judge Eric Clay wrote. “That requirement constitutes a marginal burden that precisely targets the multi-faceted problem that Ohio has identified: Children’s unsupervised assent to terms and conditions for use of platforms that take advantage of and harm them.”
The Social Media Parental Notification Act is a way to protect children’s mental health against the “intentionally addictive” nature of social media, according to U.S. senator Jon Husted.
The law requires companies to get parental permission for social media and gaming apps and to provide their privacy guidelines so families know what content would be censored or moderated on their child’s profile.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson says the ruling is “a win for Ohio families.”
“The court agreed that parents –- not social media companies –- should get a say in what kids see online,” he said in a statement. “We have an obligation to keep our children safe, and today, the most dangerous place for our kids is the internet. This decision gives parents the tools to be involved and provide oversight.”
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — You can celebrate Juneteenth in central Sioux Falls Saturday. The festivities start at 10 a.m. in Fawick Park with a Freedom Walk. Activities also include a Spoken Word, Car show demonstration, community games, a fashion, art and beauty expo, a talent show and a DJ battle.
Also in central Sioux Falls is the Festival of Cultures hosted by Lutheran Social Services. The American Patchwork Quartet will perform at 11 a.m. and Nepali dancers NSKK will take the stage at 12:30. It’s all happening at the Sioux Falls Coliseum. Then, the Parade of Flags will take place at 7:20 p.m. at the Levitt Lawn.
Join cancer survivor Lisa Soundy for for a Walk and Talk about cancer survivorship. Hear Lisa share her personal experience with cancer. The event starts at 9:30 a.m. at the Prairie West Library in western Soiux Falls. It is hosted by Avera McKennan Hospital.
Fly a kite at the Brookings Kite Festival. It goes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and a lighted kite show will go from 8:30 to10 in the evening on Saturday. It takes place at the Fishback Soccer Complex and will also include food trucks and kids games.
Also, enjoy the final day of Czech Days in Tabor. The festivities include a craft fair, kiddie parade, dumpling making demonstration and a lot more. The festivities start at 7 a.m. with a 5K and run through the night.
Head to Sioux Valley Cycle Club in Sioux Falls for an ATV race. Gates open at 1 p.m., practice starts at 3:45, and racing starts at 4:45. Admission is $10, but kids 6 and under are free.
Take in Teapot Days in Tea, South Dakota. Events include a parade at 10 a.m., the Mighty Thomas Carnival beginning at noon and fireworks at 10:15 in the evening in the city park.
Take a lunch break and enjoy live music in downtown Sioux Falls. Head to the Ampt! event at the Phillips Avenue Plaza from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
You can enjoy more music downtown later in the night at Levitt at the Falls. Hear folk songs from the American Patchwork Quartet and openers Alma Latina Grupo Multicultural and the Levitt Vocal Jam Camp Showcase. The music starts at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
There’s also free music to enjoy west river throughout the afternoon and evening at Wild Bill Days on Main Street in Deadwood. Other events include a downtown art festival, gold panning and blacksmithing demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
See if you can catch any fish at Family Park in western Sioux Falls. All the needed gear is provided, but you can bring your own gear if you would like. It goes from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and it is completely free.
There’s another fishing opportunity much further north. Head north to Roy Lake State Park for Cops and Bobbers and fish with local law enforcement. All the needed equipment and bait will be provided. It goes from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Roy Lake Store Docks and fishing pier. A park pass is required.
Help support Feeding South Dakota at the 13th annual Prime Time Gala & Concert. The event includes a silent auction, live auction, food and music from Dierks Bentley, Muscadine Bloodline and Elizabeth Jo. Guest Check-in is at 4 p.m. at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.
Catch a show at the Orpheum Theater. It’s the last weekend to see Legally Blonde presented by the Premiere Playhouse. The show starts at 7 p.m.
Experience a yarn adventure at Prairie Road Yarn in Sioux Falls. The Yarn Adventure Truck will be paying a visit from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Falls Park Farmers market in Sioux Falls is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Brandon Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 925 N. Splitrock Boulevard. The Brookings Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon in the 300 block of 6th Avenue.
-
Nevada9 minutes agoNevada’s First And Largest Military Outpost Is Now A Historic State Park To Camp, Paddle, And Hike – Islands
-
New Hampshire12 minutes agoNew Hampshire faces child care crisis: Costs rise, options fall – Valley News
-
New Jersey17 minutes agoParsippany Positioned for the Spotlight Through New Jersey’s Film Ready Program | Parsippany Focus
-
New Mexico24 minutes agoAPD: Pedestrian hit and killed in early morning crash
-
North Carolina26 minutes agoNorth Carolina’s 5 Most Efficient Scorers Next Season
-
North Dakota32 minutes agoFor North Dakota producers, ‘death by a thousand paper cuts’
-
Ohio39 minutes agoRestrictions on social media use among children restored in Ohio
-
Oklahoma42 minutes agoScouting the Oklahoma Sooners ahead of UNC matchup
