Minnesota senators unveil bills to let residents sue federal agents, bar unidentified officers from hospitals and schools

Senate Majority Leader Aaron Murphy and several Democratic senators announced a package of bills at a press conference aimed at holding federal agents accountable after recent incidents in Minnesota. The proposals would let Minnesotans pursue civil claims against federal officers, require federal agents to identify themselves when operating in state communities, and give the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) independent authority to investigate deaths involving federal officers.

The measures respond to incidents Murphy and others described this month in which federal agents shot or detained Minnesota residents. "I'm so angry," Senate Majority Leader Aaron Murphy said, adding that physicians and emergency workers reported being prevented from rendering aid in at least two cases he cited. Murphy said five health-care providers are among the bill's authors and that the package will be heard “tomorrow in Senator Lance's committee.”

Sen. Lindsey Port of Burnsville said one bill would stop federal law-enforcement officers from hiding their identities and using deceptive tactics such as swapping license plates and posing as delivery drivers. "ICE agents must take off their masks and show us who they are," Port said, arguing those tactics undermine local policing and community trust.

Sen. Elise Mann (Senate District 50) described reports from hospitals, schools and daycares in which masked, heavily armed federal officers entered medical and educational settings without warrants or identification. "This is Minnesota in 2026," Mann said, framing the measures as protections for patients, children and frontline workers.

The package includes a proposed Minnesota Constitutional Remedies Act that sponsors say would create a state cause of action permitting victims of constitutional harms caused by federal officials to sue in state court. An unnamed co‑author described the bill as a statutory remedy for injuries advocates say currently have no meaningful redress in state or federal court. "This bill solves that problem and gives Minnesota a tool for remedy," President Bobby Joe Champion said.

Sen. Ron Ladd, chair of the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, said he is chief author of separate legislation to ensure the BCA can independently investigate cases in which Minnesota residents are killed by federal agents. Ladd said the BCA was excluded from recent investigations and called that exclusion "shocking." He cited BCA superintendent Drew Evans as describing the situation as unprecedented.

Reporters asked whether the bills could withstand legal challenges under the Constitution's supremacy clause and whether any measures had bipartisan support. Murphy and other sponsors said they would seek cross‑party backing and emphasized the measures address enforcement tactics rather than immigration policy. Ladd acknowledged the prospect of legal challenges and said the committee will hear a nationally recognized immigration‑law expert, "Mazafa Shishti" of the Migration Policy Institute, as the opening witness.

When asked whether the state could add enforcement "teeth" beyond civil remedies, senators pointed to the role of courts and the legal process while acknowledging those processes can be slow. Sponsors said the bills are intended to provide state‑level remedies and to ensure Minnesota has a seat at the table in investigations and accountability.

Community groups and nonprofits at the press conference also asked whether the state could help cover local costs tied to responding to ICE operations, including police overtime. Murphy said it's not a budget year but noted the state has a rainy‑day fund and said the legislature would take up issues such as rent and small‑business relief in due course.

No votes or formal actions occurred at the press conference; sponsors said hearings will follow and that legal questions about federal‑state authority are likely to be litigated. The judiciary committee is scheduled to hear testimony on the measures the next day.