Homeland Security: ACLU ‘Demonizing’ ICE Agents With Demand for UN Probe

If the United Nations launches an investigation in Minnesota, it should be into the plight of crime victims, a Department of Homeland Security official says.  

This week, the American Civil Liberties Union asked the United Nations to launch a probe into the Trump administration’s actions in the state, regarding immigration enforcement and response to agitators.  

This comes amid the administration’s claims of escalating danger for agents in Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as in Customs and Border Protection. 

“The ACLU is once again demonizing ICE and CBP law enforcement [who] are facing a more than 1300% increase in assaults and 8000% increase in death threats against them,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told The Daily Signal in a statement.  

The agency released statistics in late January that showed a massive increase in threats and assaults against federal agents.  

“The ACLU has shown time and time again it does not care about the innocent American lives taken at the hands of gang members, murderers, drug traffickers, and rapists who have no right to be in this country,” McLaughlin added. “Perhaps the United Nations should investigate the ‘human rights crisis’ that is Minneapolis’ crime rate.” 

DHS referred to illegal aliens that ICE arrested in Minnesota who had been charged with violent crimes.  

This included one arrest of a foreign national who is a suspected terrorist. Another was previously convicted for terroristic threats, domestic assault, and driving while intoxicated. 

Another illegal alien was arrested for malicious punishment of a child. Similarly, another was arrested for malicious punishment of a child and disorderly conduct. 

One criminal illegal alien was convicted of domestic violence. Another was convicted of larceny.  

DHS noted another criminal illegal alien from Cuba was convicted of drug trafficking, while another was convicted of assault. 

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Minnesota sent an “urgent submission” to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, asking it to investigate alleged discrimination against protesters in the state by federal immigration enforcement.  

The U.N. committee defines early warning measures as “aimed at preventing existing situations escalating into conflicts.” It defines urgent procedures as responding to “problems requiring immediate attention to prevent or limit the scale or number of serious violations.” 

The ACLU request calls for the U.N. committee to use its early warning and urgent action procedures to probe alleged violations of international human rights obligations.  

“The Trump administration’s egregious crackdown in Minnesota is not only flouting the Constitution but also United States international human rights obligations that prohibit the use of racial and ethnic profiling, extra-judicial killings, and unlawful use of force against protesters and observers,” said Jamil Dakwar, director of the Human Rights Program at the American Civil Liberties Union.   

The ACLU did not immediately respond to inquiries for this story.