ASSOCIATED PRESS,VALIDATED UGC
(AP) The Liberian man arrested over the weekend after heavily armed immigration agents used a battering ram to break through the front door of his Minneapolis home had been checking in regularly with federal authorities for years, his attorney said Tuesday.
The arrest of Garrison Gibson, 37, during the Minnesota immigration crackdown that the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever, was a “blatant constitutional violation,” since the agents did not have a proper warrant, said immigration attorney Marc Prokosch.
“This was an illegal search, absolutely,” said Prokosch, noting the agents had brought only an administrative warrant, which authorize someone’s arrest but do not allow officers to forcibly enter private homes. Forced entry requires a criminal warrant signed by a judge.
Gibson, who fled the Liberian civil war as a child, had been ordered removed from the U.S., apparently because of a drug conviction more than a decade ago, but had remained in the country legally with the requirement that he meet regularly with immigration authorities. Gibson had checked in with immigration authorities at the regional immigration headquarters – the same building that agents have been using as a staging ground for operations across the Twin Cities – just days before his arrest, the attorney said. “He would have had another check-in in a couple of months,” Prokosch said. “So if he’s this dangerous person, then, why are they letting him walk around?
When asked, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin didn’t provide a legal justification for the forced entry and arrest of the man, who is a Liberian national with a deportation order from 2023. She said his arrest was part of the administration’s efforts to arrest “the worst of the worst” and added that he had that a criminal history including “robbery, drug possession with the intent to sell, possession of a deadly weapon, malicious destruction and theft.”
McLaughlin didn’t specify whether he was convicted of any of those crimes, or whether his arrest was related to any criminal activity.
Prokosch said aggressive enforcement has had a chilling effect on residents–including US citizens–who are calling and asking what kind of documents they need to carry in case they are questioned by federal agents.
“It’s clear that this is all about terror and intimidation. If the federal government was concerned about fraud and we all are, then why not send an army of accountants? Okay. You don’t need weapons to look into somebody who’s doing fraudulent billing practices. The purpose for this is to instill fear in the community. And that’s why they use a battering ram,” Prokosch.
Prokosch said Gibson has been moved to Texas but was returned to Minnesota on Tuesday pending further court proceedings in his case.
Add comment