ACLU-MN, Maslon LLP Clients Sue Freeborn County for Illegal Use of 287(g) Agreements

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – On Thursday, Dec. 18, the ACLU of Minnesota and pro bono co-counsel Maslon LLP will serve Freeborn County on behalf of four Freeborn County residents whose property taxes are being used to fund an illegal agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

In March 2025, the Freeborn County sheriff unilaterally entered into an illegal 287(g) agreement with ICE. The 287(g) program offers partnerships between ICE and state and local agencies and attempts to turn local officials into ICE agents. 287(g) agreements purport to authorize select state and local law enforcement officers to identify, arrest, and process certain people for immigration enforcement and – ultimately – deportation.

A crucial feature of the 287(g) program is that the agreements can only be applied consistent with state and local laws, including the Minnesota Constitution. In Minnesota, it is illegal to hold individuals for ICE after they have been released from state custody. Minnesota also does not authorize state or local law enforcement to conduct civil immigration arrests. However, there have been multiple reports of this happening across the state.

Under 287(g) agreements, it is the county and its taxpayers – not ICE – who are legally and economically liable for the inevitable lawsuits that follow. Countless lawsuits have put county taxpayers on the hook to pay hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in liability when their sheriffs have unlawfully arrested and detained people at ICE’s request.

The four plaintiffs in this case – Leslie Kaup, Jeremy Corey-Gruenes, Jim Margadant, and Daphne Hamborg – are taxpayers in Freeborn County, and they are suing to challenge the unlawful expenditures of their tax money.

The 287(g) program is just one piece of ICE’s excessive presence throughout the U.S. To protect the constitutional rights of Minnesotans, the ACLU-MN is taking a multi-pronged approach to oppose the national immigration enforcement surge that has now arrived in Minnesota. The lawsuit that the ACLU-MN and pro bono partners filed yesterday – to protect the constitutional rights of Minnesotans who assemble, observe, record, and protest ICE actions – is inextricably linked with this work to end 287(g) agreements in Minnesota.

“While today we ask the courts to uphold the Constitution in Freeborn County,” said ACLU-MN Advocacy Director Julio Zelaya, “people across Minnesota are already leading. From county board rooms to sheriff meetings, constituents are organizing and speaking out against 287(g) contracts, demanding that local law enforcement serve their communities—not act as an arm of federal immigration enforcement.”

“Freeborn County has plenty of needs,” said Corey-Gruenes, “and I am willing to pay for most of them, but an unlawful agreement with ICE that spends uncompensated county tax dollars for our jail officers to work as ICE agents is not one of them.”

“This case is the latest chapter in the ACLU-MN's work to vindicate the rights of all Minnesotans – no matter where they were born – to equal dignity, equal respect, and equal liberty under the Minnesota Constitution,” said ACLU-MN Staff Attorney Benjamin Casper. “This chapter is being written by residents of Freeborn County.”

“Our message to law enforcement across the State of Minnesota is simple. You do not have legal authority to enforce civil immigration law,” said ACLU-MN Legal Director, Teresa Nelson. “If you have signed or are considering signing a 287(g) agreement to insulate you from legal liability, you should reconsider because it will not exempt you from liability for violating state law and the Minnesota Constitution.”

“We are proud to represent the four plaintiffs who have brought this lawsuit on behalf of all taxpayers in Freeborn County to stop the Sheriff’s Office and the County from taking illegal actions pursuant to their agreement with ICE,” said Peter Hennigan, attorney at Maslon LLP. “These illegal actions put all Freeborn County taxpayers at risk, and we commend these four citizens for the courage that it takes to bring this lawsuit in our current political environment.”