Ellison Hires Anti-Law Enforcement Deputy

[Valin]

Power Line

John Hinderaker

December 30, 2018

The nation’s first anti-law enforcement attorney general, Keith Ellison, has named the man who will be his chief deputy when he takes office next month. The Star Tribune gives the story its usual lazy treatment, mostly quoting Ellison’s press release:

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Minnesota Attorney General-elect Keith Ellison picked a veteran immigration lawyer to be his chief deputy attorney general on Friday, reviving a position that will give Ellison a second-in-command when he takes office next month.

John Keller’s tenure leading the nonprofit Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) since 2005 will add to the office a “unique combination of deep grassroots understanding of the struggles that all Minnesotans face,” Ellison said in a statement announcing the hire.

Keller’s ILCM provides legal assistance to low-income immigrants and refugees and has played a prominent role in the state in opposing President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Keller joined the office as a staff attorney in 1998 and, as director, grew the office from five staffers to a 32-employee operation that counts five offices statewide and a network of 250 pro bono attorneys.

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It falls to the upstart Minnesota Sun to give us a deeper understanding of Keller’s background and what it says about the direction of law enforcement in Minnesota under Keith Ellison:

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Keller and the ILCM have become outspoken critics of the Trump administration and its immigration polices, and have repeatedly taken actions to thwart Trump’s agenda in Minnesota.

Last December, for instance, Keller helped secure $250,000 in taxpayer funds from Hennepin County to launch a legal defense fund for county residents facing deportation. The fund was criticized by Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson for using taxpayer money to help people who have violated the country’s immigration laws, The Star Tribune reported.

ILCM currently operates 10 different legal projects, including a “Detainee Assistance Project” that provides “full representation for detained clients who qualify for asylum or other relief,” and a “DREAMers Immigration Project,” which offers “legal representation and outreach for youth who were brought to the U.S. as children.”

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So Keller is a fringe figure who has largely devoted his career to undermining the enforcement of our immigration laws. He will fit right in with the first anti-law enforcement AG regime in Minnesota’s, if not America’s, history.

* Ellison appears to be on a collision course with the voters who elected him. A recent national poll found that 84% say illegal immigration is a “problem” for the U.S., with 58% calling it “serious” or “very serious.” Opinion in Minnesota doesn’t appear to be much different. In August, the Thinking Minnesota poll found that by 60% to 36%, residents oppose making Minnesota a sanctuary state, the apparent goal of Ellison and Keller. And abolishing ICE is also unpopular, supported by 29% and opposed by 62%.

 

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* Not that you will ever read anything about this in the local MSM.