Constitutional Observers Seen as “Critical” in Promoting Accountability
Cheryl Holm-Hansen says there’s no specific incident that compelled her to become a constitutional observer just over a year ago.
“It was more a feeling of, things were going to get more complicated and things were going to get worse,” recalled Holm-Hansen, a Plymouth resident.
Since then, many others have volunteered to receive training for the role, which simply observes or documents incidents in the community, such as government or law enforcement actions. The goal is to make sure such events are done so legally and humanely, said Holm-Hansen. Due to federal immigration enforcement actions and Operation Metro Surge, the number of constitutional observers has soared.
Holm-Hansen estimates there’s at least 30,000 trained observers like her now in Minnesota, including hundreds here in the Twin Cities northwest suburbs. She said Operation Metro Surge highlighted a need for documentation and transparency.
“One thing that is very true is that we see almost daily examples of laws that are being broken by our federal agents, as well as just inhumane treatment,” said Holm-Hansen.
The network of constitutional observers are able to quickly track locations of federal agents, so incidents of immigration enforcement aren’t done without a watchful eye.
However, observers said the increased scrutiny of federal agents during Operation Metro Surge led to retaliation. Holm-Hansen said she and other observers became targets of federal agents.
Holm-Hansen recalled one recent example.
“People were sitting in their cars, people who were filming, people who just happened to be present were barricaded into a lot that we would not have been able to get out. We were filmed, and agents took guns out and kind of brandished weapons in our direction,” said Holm-Hansen. “We were not harmed, we were not detained. But I think it’s an example of some of what many of the observers experience.”
The Plymouth resident said she had never observed that kind of behavior from local police.
“Regardless of where someone stands politically, regardless of what you think about immigration enforcement, I think it’s important that people have accurate information about what this is looking like in the streets and how people are experiencing that,” said Holm-Hansen.
Despite an announced end to Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, Holm-Hansen said she has not seen evidence of a drawdown yet in the suburbs.
An Immigration Attorney’s Perspective
Evangeline Dhawan-Maloney, an immigration lawyer with RSC Law in Golden Valley, says she has seen the caseload into her office explode due to Operation Metro Surge.
“I have hundreds of clients that are here legally, that have done everything the government’s asking them to do to seek asylum or other immigration benefits, and they are being, you know, racially profiled and detained, and denied access to attorneys,” said Dhawn-Maloney. “It’s deeply troubling.”
Dhawan-Maloney said up until about two months ago, she had done about two or three habeas cases, legal action to challenge a person’s detainment in court. Her number of habeas cases has since grown to about 20.
The immigration attorney emphasizes that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not have jurisdiction over U.S. citizens.
“If you are a U.S. citizen, and you’re stopped by ICE, you should simply tell them, ‘I’m a U.S. citizen.’ If you have your passport, you can show that to them,” said Dhawan-Maloney. “If you’re a non-citizen and you have a pending immigration case, you may want to tell them that, but ultimately, you should be prepared to contact a lawyer because, we are seeing ICE detain anyone with a pending immigration case.”
Also See: Local Mayors Demand State Aid, Accountability Following Operation Metro Surge
