ACLU of Minnesota

Know your rights: Recording federal agents in public You have the right to photograph or film anything in plain view, including federal buildings and law enforcement as long as you aren't trespassing or violating a lawful order.

The First Amendment protects your right to record government officials performing their duties in public.

This applies to ICE agents, police, FBI, National Guard troops, and any other government officials.

ICE Agents Menaced Minnesota Protesters at Their Homes, Filings Say Protesters in Minneapolis and St. Paul said in sworn statements that they were singled out by agents who demonstrated that they knew where they lived.

"Among nearly 100 sworn statements filed in federal court on Friday are more than a dozen accounts... in which federal agents deployed to Minnesota singled out protesters, finding the addresses of their homes and showing up there."

Stop ICE's Attack On Our Communities An ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. This news is devastating. ICE must immediately withdraw its 2,000 agents from Minnesota and Congress must block any new funding to immigration enforcement.

We can’t afford to wait as federal agents terrorize us with impunity.

Congress must rein in ICE’s lawless abuses now.

Two protesters with signs reading "Love Melts Ice" "Ice out Now" Photo by Edwige Moses

Sign at memorial reading "teachers for democracy" Flowers and other signage surrounds the sign

A protester in a red coat holds up a sign reading "I stand with our immigrant neighbors"

Minnesota strong 💪

📸 by Kurt & Edwige Moses

On Wednesday, Feb. 4, ACLU-MN Executive Director Deepinder Mayell gave testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington D.C. Deepinder spoke about the impacts of "Operation Metro Surge" on Minnesota and asked Congress to use the power of the purse to rein in escalations in our state.

📸@TKdoesphotos

This is a well-settled area of Minnesota law, and past legal cases should be more than enough to discourage similar unlawful actions. If they are not, we will return to court to protect the rights of all Minnesotans.

Earlier chapters in the long fight against the unlawful detention of immigrants have included successful lawsuits in Esparza v. Nobles County, Orellana v. Nobles County, and Parada v. Anoka County, as well as the ongoing litigation in Suarez Varela v. Carver County.

And, as we have seen in Freeborn County, St. Cloud, Monticello, St. Peter and throughout Minnesota, people are fighting to protect the constitutional rights of all people in Minnesota.

aclu-mn statement on DHS’s claim that county officials in Minnesota are cooperating with them to unlawfully detain immigrants

Minnesotans have been protesting for months:
– getting pepper sprayed, assaulted, and killed
– to protect the rights of immigrants in Minnesota.

We're on Capitol Hill today with Deepinder Mayell, @aclumn.bsky.social executive director, who is testifying before Congress about ICE's attacks on protesters and observers in Minneapolis, and the grave threat that poses to our free speech.

The Trump administration is not above the First Amendment.

Trump administration to withdraw 700 immigration agents from Minnesota The Trump administration will withdraw 700 federal immigration agents from Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday.

The pressure is working, but make no mistake: this "drawdown" would still leave thousands of federal immigration agents on the streets of Minneapolis, around four times the size of the city's current police force.

These agents continue to sow chaos, and Congress needs to rein in these agencies now.

BREAKING: We're calling on the U.N. to investigate the Trump administration's violations of human rights in Minnesota.

The U.S. government must be held accountable for blatantly defying international law as ICE ignores the freedoms our country is obligated to uphold.

Black history matters. Black stories matter. Black voices matter.

Bad Bunny Calls for 'ICE Out' While Accepting Grammy Award Bad Bunny called for “ICE out” while accepting the Grammy award for Best Música Urbana Album.

Opposition to ICE's abuses is growing by the day.

Whether it's speaking out at the Grammys, joining a peaceful protest, attending a Know Your Rights training, or demanding action from Congress, people across the country are resisting ICE's lawlessness.

Black and neon blue graphic with a photo of Billie Eilish at the 2026 Grammys. A quote of hers on the graphic reads "We just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter, the people matter."

We all have a role to play to protect our communities from ICE's brutality. Politicians are feeling the heat from our pressure, and we must keep it up.

ACLU and ACLU of Minnesota React to the Trump Administration's Arrests of Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort | American Civil Liberties Union Their overnight detention and arrests are the latest example of President Trump and his administration attacking freedom of the press.

The Trump administration has abused the rights of Minnesotans for months. Arresting journalists should alarm everyone.

These arrests are a bold escalation of the Trump administration’s quest to target a free press, avoid transparency and shape the truth.
www.aclu.org/press-releas...

"I kept yelling that I was legal. An officer said 'You're not from here. Where are you from?' I asked them not to yell at me. I again told them I was legal. They grabbed my wallet and phone and turned off my phone so the recording stopped...They were pointing weapons and yelling at me to shut up." R.C. Minneapolis resident, in a sworn declaration in our laswsuit challenging ICE's unlawful actions

We're taking ICE and CBP to court on behalf of people like R.C., who was carrying proof of his lawful permanent residence status when immigration agents used unnecessary force and arrested him anyway.

"I kept yelling that I was legal. An officer said 'You're not from here. Where are you from?' I asked them not to yell at me. I again told them I was legal. They grabbed my wallet and phone and turned off my phone so the recording stopped...They were pointing weapons and yelling at me to shut up." R.C. Minneapolis resident, in a sworn declaration in our laswsuit challenging ICE's unlawful actions

We're taking ICE and CBP to court on behalf of people like R.C., who was carrying proof of his lawful permanent residence status when immigration agents used unnecessary force and arrested him anyway.

Yesterday, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit refused to reinstate a lower court ruling that protects people documenting, recording, and protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abuses in Minnesota from government retaliation.

Last night, we filed an emergency motion to lift the appeals court pause on the injunction that imposed limits on federal agents' interactions with observers and protesters. Minnesotans must be safe to exercise their constitutional rights.

We filed an emergency declaration in our case, Tincher v. Noem, to submit a first-hand account of federal agents shooting Alex Pretti. ICE's violent and lawless attacks on our communities must be stopped.

"Defending the Constitution in this environment has required more than advance preparation and a sense of urgency. It necessitated an unshakable belief that democratic norms are worth fighting for even when the pressure seems unyielding." Anthony D. Romero, ACLU Executive Director

ACLU-MN Executive Director Deepinder Mayell will join ACLU leadership for a special town hall in the wake of ICE's killing of Renee Nicole Good and as we mark the one-year anniversary of President Trump's inauguration.

RSVP at the link in our bio.

What If I'm Attending a Protest? - ACLU of Minnesota The right to join with fellow citizens in protest or peaceful assembly is critical to a functioning democracy. But it is also unfortunately true that governments and police can violate this right – through the use of mass arrests, illegal use of force, criminalization of protest, and other means intended to thwart free public expression. […]

Knowing your rights is the most powerful tool you have when attending a protest.
https://www.aclu-mn.org/know-your-rights/what-if-im-attending-protest/

We are relieved that in Tincher v. Noem et al. the court has issued a preliminary injunction. The ACLU-MN is hopeful that it will prevent further First Amendment violations like the ones that have been harming Minnesotans since the start of “Operation Metro Surge.”

aclu-mn.org/cases/tincher-v-noem

List of six key protest rights including no permit needed for protests, right to photograph public scenes, documenting violations, calmly leaving if police say free to go, rights if arrested, and remaining silent with lawyer present.

Know your protest rights 🗣️📢

ACLU, ACLU of Minnesota Sue Federal Government to End ICE, CBP’s Practice of Suspicionless Stops, Warrantless Arrests, and Racial Profiling of Minnesotans - ACLU of Minnesota MINNEAPOLIS —The ACLU of Minnesota, American Civil Liberties Union, Covington & Burling LLP, Greene Espel PLLP, and Robins Kaplan LLP filed a class-action lawsuit today against the Trump administration on behalf of three community members — and a class of similarly situated people — whose constituti…

BREAKING: We filed a class action lawsuit against ICE and CBP challenging federal agents’ unconstitutional and illegal stops and arrests of people in Minnesota.
We'll see the Trump administration in court.
https://www.aclu-mn.org/press-releases/ice-lawsuit2/

Photo of people at a rally outside of the Supreme Court, holding signs and the transgender pride flag. One person is facing away from the camera and holding a blue and pink sign that reads "Protect Trans Youth."

Becky Pepper-Jackson and every other trans youth in the nation deserve to play the sports they want to play and be their authentic selves. We'll defend that right every day of the year.

📍 SCOTUS