The way President Donald Trump’s immigration forces treated an ex-Marine who was detained in Minneapolis horrified his lawyer, a new report revealed.
Steven Saari, a former Marine who served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, was detained by Trump’s immigration forces after he visited the site where ICU nurse Alex Prettiwas killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in January, The Intercept reported. He said agents held him without charges for around six hours, denied him access to legal representation, and then made a copy of his cellphone records without a warrant and without Saari’s consent.
Saari said he was detained after being questioned by immigration officers who thought he was an undercover agent. Saari was carrying his legally-owned 9mm pistol at the time, and became concerned that he might meet the same fate as Pretti when officers detained him without first securing his weapon, which is a breach of basic law enforcement protocol.
Shauna Kieffer, vice president of the Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the organization representing Saari against the Trump administration, spoke out against the way her client was treated.
“Every step of this process raises red flags,” said Kieffer. “You don’t get to detain someone without cause, deny them access to counsel, seize their phone, and then search or copy it without a warrant.”
Saari’s allegations against the administration are the latest in a long line of legal complaints regarding the way Trump’s immigration forces treat immigrants and U.S. citizens.
For instance, a memo circulated by the Department of Homeland Security has told immigration officers they don’t need a warrant to enter someone’s home, contradicting other training DHS provides to new recruits. Legal experts have also said the memo likely violates the Fourth Amendment protections against unwarranted searches and seizures.
Read the entire report by clicking here.
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