New York Attorney General Letitia James has led a coalition of 21 other attorneys general in a move to try to pressure Donald Trump’s Department of Justice’s (DOJ) to back down from its demands that Minnesota turn over to DOJ sensitive Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data, information on Minnesota voters and also dismantle critical local public safety policies. The attorneys general also want the DOJ to drop demands that Minnesota end “sanctuary policies” that may be used to protect immigrants.
In a Jan. 29 letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, James and the other state attorneys general slammed the DOJ’s demands that were made in a Jan. 24 letter from Bondi to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“Your letter reads as an after-the-fact attempt to justify a highly concerning federal operation, the execution and consequences of which raise serious concerns that are now receiving national attention. The letter makes demands that are without lawful basis and inconsistent with fundamental principles of our federal system,” the state attorneys general said.
“We refuse to be intimidated by these threats, and we reject their unlawful demands that infringe on Minnesota’s fundamental sovereignty,” James said in a statement. “My fellow attorneys general and I will continue to stand firm in defense of the rule of law and Americans’ rights.”
Bondi’s letter to Walz was sent the same day federal immigration agents fatally shot Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti, the second U.S. citizen to be killed by Trump administration agents in Minneapolis.
The attorneys general warned that Bondi’s actions toward Minnesota represent a dangerous escalation that threatens the constitutional balance of power between states and the federal government. They assert that the demands amount to a profound intrusion on state sovereignty.
“Your letter reveals this administration is attempting through force what it cannot achieve through the courts,” the attorneys general wrote. “We do not dispute the federal government’s authority to enforce federal immigration law. But that authority cannot extend to commandeering state governments, coercing the repeal of lawful, duly enacted state policies, or demanding broad access to sensitive records based on unsupported assertions. To be clear, the Administration has offered no actual evidence to back up such massive federal overreaches and intrusions on state sovereignty and individual privacy.”
Joining James in standing up to the action of the Trump DOJ were the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
