Pentagon to dispatch dozens of military lawyers to Minneapolis amid immigration crackdown
Federal agents including ICE and US Border Patrol stand with weapons along Portland Ave. near the scene where federal agents shot and killed a woman earlier in Minneapolis
By Natasha Bertrand, Haley Britzky, CNN
(CNN) — The Pentagon is working to surge dozens of military lawyers to Minneapolis to assist in federal prosecutions amid an immigration enforcement crackdown there, according to two officials familiar with the matter and a written request that has circulated inside the Defense Department.
The emailed request, reviewed by CNN, says that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has directed the military services to identify 40 judge advocate general officers, from which 25 will be selected to serve as special assistant United States attorneys in Minneapolis.
“Ideally have significant experience in criminal prosecution, civil litigation, administrative law, immigration law, general litigation, or other related fields,” the request says.
Around 1,000 additional US Customs and Border Protection agents are expected to deploy to Minneapolis soon, as tensions between federal and local law enforcement have flared after the fatal, ICE-involved shooting last week of mother of three Renee Nicole Good sparked protests nationwide.
One of the officials and another person familiar with the JAG Corps told CNN that 25 JAGs is a huge number to send to one city. But it’s increasingly being done in cities the Trump administration is targeting with increased federal crackdowns on crime and immigration.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.
Last August, the Pentagon planned to detail 20 JAGs to Washington, DC, in what DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said was aimed at “fighting and reducing crime in the district.” And just last week, the Pentagon detailed 20 JAGs to Memphis “to support” a White House directive to “restore order” to the city, the US attorney for the western district of Tennessee said in a statement.
The Pentagon in September also authorized up to 600 military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges around the country, in phases of 150 at a time as needed, CNN has reported.
One of the officials said the increased detailing of JAGs to the Justice Department is taking valuable resources away from the Defense Department.
“We don’t have enough attorneys to fill regular jobs in the JAG Corps because so many are exiting,” this person said. “This continued demand for SAUSAs is bleeding legal resources from the military.”
The-CNN-Wire
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