The Upper Midwest Law Center filed a notice of appearance in federal court and joined the defense team for Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., a federal ICE/ERO agent charged in Hennepin County after a traffic encounter that occurred while he was in the course of federal immigration enforcement work in the Twin Cities.
Morgan has asked to remove the state criminal case to federal court, arguing the charges involve conduct connected to his duties as a federal law enforcement officer and raise federal law issues. The State of Minnesota is opposing removal and seeking to keep the prosecution in state court.
The case lands amid growing controversy over progressive prosecutors targeting federal immigration enforcement activity. UMLC is monitoring the matter because it raises a serious question: are local prosecutors using state criminal charges to interfere with federal law enforcement?
“This case should concern anyone who believes law enforcement decisions must be made fairly, not politically,” said Doug Seaton, President and Founder of the Upper Midwest Law Center. “Federal officers do not lose their rights because they serve in a politically charged area of law enforcement. When a local prosecutor brings criminal charges against a federal agent for conduct connected to federal duties, the public deserves to know whether the case is being handled evenhandedly or being used to make a political point.”
Under federal law, certain cases involving federal officers may be removed from state court to federal court when the charged conduct relates to federal duties and federal law issues are implicated. Morgan’s notice of removal argues that standard is met. The State disputes that position.
UMLC will continue monitoring the case and speaking out where necessary to defend the rule of law, fair treatment of law enforcement, and limits on politically motivated prosecution.