The event was arranged through a collaboration between the League of Women Voters and New Ulm Indivisible.

Ellison said his office works to visit with members of the public. He had been visiting communities across the state to discuss issues impacting Minnesota.

“We really believe that it is critical that if you are a public servant, you should be talking to the public,” Ellison said.

Ellison began his talk by explaining some of the work done by the Attorney General’s office, but most people knew him from his office’s work on federal accountability. He said his office has filed 54 lawsuits against President Donald Trump’s administration.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison discusses everything from tariffs to Operation Metro Surge during a special forum Monday at the New Ulm Community Center.

“I don’t wake up in the morning hoping to sue Trump,” Ellison said, “But he gets up and violates the law. Our alternative is to let him do it or do something about it. I’ve decided to do something about it.”

Ellison gave a summary of some of the cases his office has worked on, along with Attorney Generals from other states. One of the most recent cases was on Trump’s tariffs.

“Twelve states joined together to sue Trump because he said he had the power to tariff anyone he wanted,” Ellison said. The states argued that the power to place tariffs belonged to Congress. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court and was settled 6-3, ruling the tariffs were illegal.

Ellison said the next question was what to do with the money already collected from the tariffs. He said there were many who wanted to give it back to people hurt most by the tax.

Another lawsuit filed was the birthright citizenship case. The Trump administration is attempting to eliminate birthright citizenship, resulting in lawsuits. The Supreme Court has not given a final ruling yet, but Ellison said he is confident Trump will lose on this issue.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison addresses a New Ulm crowd Monday night at the Community Center.

Last year, Trump placed a federal funding freeze. Ellison said this led to an immediate lawsuit that blocked the freeze.

Ellison said the president has also threatened to restrict funds to Minnesota unless the state cuts gender-affirming care.

Another suit involved the federal government attempting to hold Minnesota’s FEMA funds on conditions that state law enforcement was deputized as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Ellison said he understands that many people feel differently about gendering affirming care, but he was committed to supporting gender affirming care because it is used every day in the state.

Ellison said a lot of women going through menopause will take hormones and that does constitute gender affirming care. He said men taking Viagra are also using gender affirming care.

Ellison said if we support this type of gender affirming care, why can’t others have it.

“It feels like an equal protection problem,” he said. “I believe in liberty and justice for all.”

The main case Ellison discussed was a recent suit filed in response to Operation Metro Surge, the largest deployment of immigration officers in the history of the United States, that occurred in the Twin Cities this year.

The lawsuit argues that the federal government cannot force the states to conduct immigration enforcement.

“You can’t make us do your job,” Ellison said.

Ellison said an individual who is not authorized to be in the United State and has committed a crime should be removed, but said there are a lot of people who do not meet that standard. He specifically cited asylum seekers.

“We have international treaty responsibilities to provide due process rights to people seeking asylum,” Ellison said.

He clarified that if a person without legal status is convicted of a felony, local police do need to report them to immigration. However, if not charged with a crime police cannot legally hold them for immigration.

“Holding people beyond the legal process of Minnesota who were not convicted of a crime is not something we can do,” Ellison said. “We cannot hold them beyond what the Fourth Amendment allows.”

Ellison said he believes the lawsuit filed against Operation Metro Surge is righteous, but acknowledged there was no precedent for it. He said it will be his office task to show the metro surge was a violation of fourth amendment rights.

Ellison said ICE’s methods were concerning because the agents consistently wore masks to conceal their identity.

“Your average officer is not ashamed to do their job,” he said. “What kind of job are you enforcing if you won’t even let people know who you are?”

He said there is no way to verify they are legitimate officers.

“This is dangerous and bad and it erodes public trust,” he said. “It is public trust that allows law enforcement to be effective at their job.”

“You can count on my office to protect our vote and our civil rights,” he said. “I don’t believe the freedom of America or Minnesota is sitting in a courtroom. I believe it is in the hearts of our people, the streets of our cities, and in our counties. When people go out and protest, that is what really protects our country.”

Ellison was asked who was paying for the damage caused by Operation Metro Surge.

Ellison said the cost is estimated at $203 million and the lawsuit against the surge could be amended to include damages.

Ellison was asked about bringing charges against the ICE agents who shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti and why this has not happened despite video evidence.

Ellison said there is enough eyewitness testimony and video evidence to bring charges, but he has seen cases lost that relied too much on video.

“What you are seeing is not reluctance to charge,” he said. “It is preparation.”

Ellison said with these cases, the investigation needed to be thorough and had to be based on more than just the video because a defense attorney knows how to manipulate a video.

Ellison said during the George Floyd case, the trial was based on witnesses and used the video to augment the testimony.

Multiple people asked Ellison about the mental health toll the ICE surge has had on citizens.

“The antidote for anxiety is activism,” Ellison said. “If you do something, it will make you feel better.”

A resident of Watonwan County said the impact of ICE operations in St. James had severely hurt the economy. She asked if there was any potential for financial relief for rural Minnesota.

Ellison recommended contacting the Minneapolis Foundation, which has helped keep small businesses afloat. He said it may take additional support from neighbors.

“If ever there was a time in our state when we realized we needed each other, it is now,” he said. “We’re really one state.”

Ellison urged individuals to share their stories of ICE encounters with his office. That information could be used as evidence in future cases.

“There is a lot of power in story,” he said. “We do want to hear your story.”