Federal immigration actions upend local criminal cases

‘It makes us … less safe’: How federal immigration actions are affecting local prosecutions in Hennepin County

Victims afraid to testify. Defendants deported before a conviction. Immigration arrests are upending local criminal cases, Hennepin County officials say.

Federal immigration actions upend local criminal cases

Hennepin County prosecutors say President Donald Trump’s immigration policies are hindering their pursuit of justice, in some cases because defendants are deported before they get their day in court, and in others because witnesses or defendants may be too fearful to appear.  Since January, when Trump took office for the second time, fear that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents may detain them if they appear for a court date m…