LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a coalition in support of plaintiffs in a case who are seeking a temporary restraining order against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The coalition.

Nessel, along with other state attorneys general, wrote an amicus brief, a legal document submitted by someone who is not a party to the case but has an interest in the outcome, for the plaintiffs in Vasquez Perdomo et al. v. Noem et al. According to the press release, ICE and CBP are “engaging in unlawful stops of Los Angeles residents during immigration sweeps.”

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“Allowing these tactics in Los Angeles sets a dangerous and unacceptable precedent – one that could easily spread to states like Michigan, where ICE raids have already shaken communities,” Nessel said in the press release. “When masked, heavily armed federal agents operate with no identification, they threaten public safety and erode public trust. I stand with my colleagues in confronting these unlawful practices now before they become the new normal.”

The brief states that “the ongoing mass deportation raids in Los Angeles have shattered these rhythms of everyday life.”

It goes on to say: “Masked immigration agents conducting unannounced enforcement actions through the community and, in all too many instances, stopping residents without so much as a reasonable suspicion of unlawful conduct have left people afraid to leave their homes. Restaurants have closed, local businesses have suffered, and families have skipped graduation ceremonies. Residents are hesitant to seek healthcare, and many churches are nearly empty.”

ICE.

In a June 16 press release, ICE issued a statement to “set the record straight on media reports demonizing” its officers. In response to reports claiming there is a rise in racial profiling among border agents, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the Department of Homeland’s targets have “nothing to do with an individuals’ skin color.”

“What makes someone a target is if they are in the United States illegally,” McLaughlin said in the press release. “These types of disgusting smears are designed to demonize and villainize our brave ICE law enforcement. This kind of garbage has led to a more than 400 percent increase in the assaults on ICE officers. Politicians and activists must turn the temperature down and tone down their rhetoric.”