MADISON, WIS. — Gov. Tony Evers on Monday released a statement regarding a new lawsuit filed in support of the state of Minnesota’s lawsuit challenging the deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol in Minnesota.
The lawsuit also petitions for a temporary restraining order against the federal government’s actions.
“Wisconsin stands with our neighbors across the river in Minnesota. American citizens are having their rights and freedoms violated and are being put in unsafe and life-threatening situations in their own communities. Two have already lost their lives. It has to stop,” Evers said. “In Minnesota and across our country, dangerous and unlawful actions at the hands of untrained individuals are sowing fear, division and distrust. This isn’t helping make our kids, families and communities safer — in fact, it’s doing the opposite. It’s clearer than ever that this has nothing to do with public safety. And, as states, we have a responsibility to stand up and say no more.”
Evers’ announcement comes as protests continue Monday in Minneapolis after a federal agent shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Saturday. The shooting occurred Saturday near 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue, where witnesses say Pretti was protecting a woman during an immigration enforcement operation.
Watch: Protests continue following deadly shooting of Minneapolis man
According to the release, Wisconsin joins more than a dozen other states in filing the amicus brief and supporting Minnesota’s argument that it should be granted an injunction to protect Minnesota’s communities against what Evers called “unlawful immigration enforcement actions.”
The Badger State is listed in the filing as among a coalition of states that “have a strong interest in ensuring that federal immigration enforcement is not used as an excuse to infringe the sovereignty of the states.”
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