MN SOVEREIGNTY

Defending Minnesota’s Sovereignty and the Rule of Law

The Trump Administration’s threats of federal funding cuts, political retribution, and an aggressive federal presence have created an unprecedented challenge to Minnesota’s ability to govern itself and protect its residents. State sovereignty is not an abstract ideait is the practical power to keep families safe, fund our schools and hospitals, and ensure that local laws are enforced without intimidation.

Minnesota must respond through lawful, democratic means: strengthening the Attorney General’s capacity to defend our resources in court, protecting organizations targeted for political punishment, and using every civil and regulatory tool available to ensure federal activity complies with state and local law. The proposals below outline how we can assert Minnesota’s constitutional authority, demand transparency, and safeguard our communities while upholding civil rights and due process.

Increase Funding For
The Attorney General’s
Federal Lawsuits

Minnesota cannot protect its people or its budget without a strong legal defense against unlawful federal overreach. Increasing funding for the Attorney General’s Office will ensure our state has the lawyers, investigators, and expert resources needed to challenge illegal federal funding cuts, defend civil rights, and stop policies that harm Minnesota families, schools, and health care systems.

These lawsuits are not symbolic—they are how we keep billions of dollars in education, transportation, and public safety from being stripped away and how we enforce the Constitution when Washington refuses to follow it. Investing in this legal capacity is one of the most practical ways to defend our sovereignty and protect the services our communities depend on.

Real-Time Transparency
on Federal
Enforcement Activity

This proposal would create a state-operated, real-time transparency portal through the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension where municipalities, organizations, and residents can share verified public-space observations of federal immigration enforcement activity for awareness, civil-rights monitoring, and service coordination. The system would provide timely location and time updates while explicitly prohibiting interference, evasion instructions, or the posting of private addresses, and would pair each update with know-your-rights information and clear safety guidance.

Real-time data would allow schools, hospitals, legal aid providers, and local governments to respond responsibly, document potential violations of Minnesota law, and connect impacted families to resources without obstructing lawful duties. Transparency in the moment—grounded in guardrails and verification—is essential to protect community safety, uphold constitutional rights, and ensure federal actions comply with state law.

Prosecute Individual ICE
Agent Local &
State Law Violations

This proposal would fund a dedicated unit within the Attorney General’s Office, working in partnership with county attorneys, to investigate and prosecute violations of Minnesota criminal and civil law committed by federal immigration officers when they act outside lawful authority. Modeled after independent, high-profile investigative processes used in other complex cases, the unit would bring transparent, evidence-driven prosecutions in Minnesota courts—using BCA investigations, public hearings, and grand jury tools to ensure accountability equal to any other actor in our state.

No one operating in Minnesota is above our assault, trespass, civil-rights, or consumer-protection laws, and this effort would give local prosecutors the resources and coordination needed to enforce them. Accountability through our existing justice system is essential to protect residents, uphold the rule of law, and deter abuse of power.

Control ICE
Through A Federal
Consent Decree

This proposal would authorize and fund the Attorney General, in coordination with local governments, to seek a federal consent decree establishing court-supervised standards for immigration enforcement activity in Minnesota. The legislation would require the state to pursue binding conditions on any federal operations occurring within our borders—such as limits on use of force, protection of sensitive locations like schools and hospitals, clear identification of agents, and independent monitoring of complaints.

The goal is not to block lawful federal authority, but to ensure that any federal presence in Minnesota respects constitutional rights, complies with state law, and operates with transparency and accountability. By creating a statutory pathway to court-enforced oversight, the Legislature can use one of the strongest tools available to protect residents and uphold the rule of law.

Force ICE
Out of Hotels
Using Local Law

This proposal would fund Minnesota nonprofits to help cities use existing hotel-licensing and nuisance laws when ICE’s presence at lodging facilities repeatedly attracts protests, counter-protests, traffic disruptions, and safety concerns that harm guests, workers, and surrounding neighborhoods. Many municipalities lack the legal capacity to respond when a specific hotel contract generates ongoing police calls, business losses, and community instability.

State grants would allow nonprofit attorneys and policy specialists to partner with city governments to document impacts, craft enforceable ordinances, and pursue remedies such as license conditions, fines, or termination of problematic contracts. Strengthening these local civil tools will protect public safety and neighborhood stability while making it more difficult for ICE to operate in Minnesota by denying access to hotel accommodations that create persistent nuisance conditions.

Community
Infrastructure
Governance Act

This proposal would create a Community Infrastructure Governance Act allowing cities to partner with nonprofit entities—similar to the Hennepin Healthcare model—to manage key corridors and public facilities under neutral access rules that protect sensitive spaces and neighborhood stability. These partnerships would establish lawful protocols for identification, warrant verification, and time-place conditions applied to all enforcement agencies, while ensuring hospitals, schools, shelters, and residential areas are shielded from unnecessary disruption.

The structure would also provide clear civil remedies when federal contracts generate recurring harm such as protests, traffic blockages, or safety risks, giving cities a practical pathway to enforce nuisance laws and protect public welfare. By strengthening local governance tools rather than altering federal authority, Minnesota can safeguard community infrastructure, uphold civil rights, and maintain order through established, lawful processes.