A federal judge in Minnesota ordered the release of a Liberian man Thursday, four days after immigration agents stormed his home with a battering ram, sparking outrage over the raid.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ruled that the agents violated Garrison Gibson’s Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure.
“To arrest him, Respondents forcibly entered Garrison G.’s home without his consent and without a judicial warrant,” Bryan said.
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The arrest came amid what the Department of Homeland Security calls its largest enforcement operation in Minnesota. Since November 29, DHS says its officers have detained more than 2,500 individuals across the state.
Marc Prokosch, Gibson’s attorney, described the ruling as a major win. He had filed a habeas corpus petition, a legal tool used to determine if an imprisonment is lawful, and called Gibson’s arrest a “blatant constitutional violation” because the agents lacked a proper warrant.
During the raid, Gibson’s wife and their 9-year-old child were inside their Minneapolis home. Prokosch said she was left deeply shaken.
At the time of the order, Gibson, 37, was being held at an immigration detention center in Albert Lea, Minnesota, after previously being detained at a large camp on the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas, according to ICE’s detainee locator.
Gibson, who fled Liberia as a child during the civil war, had been ordered removed from the U.S., apparently over a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed. He had remained in the country legally under an order of supervision, which required regular check-ins with immigration authorities.
Only days before his arrest, Gibson had reported to immigration offices in the same building where agents have staged recent enforcement raids.
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In his Thursday ruling, Bryan said he agreed with Gibson’s argument that officials “violated applicable regulations” by failing to provide proper notice that his order of supervision had been revoked and by not granting an interview immediately after his detention.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for DHS, previously described Gibson as having “a lengthy rap sheet (that) includes robbery, drug possession with intent to sell, possession of a deadly weapon, malicious destruction and theft,” though she did not clarify which incidents were arrests, charges, or convictions. Court records indicate Gibson’s legal history shows only the 2008 felony, along with minor drug arrests, traffic violations, and an arrest for fare evasion.
The Twin Cities have become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign. Tensions escalated after Renee Good was shot and killed on January 7 during a confrontation with agents. On Wednesday, a man was wounded by an immigration officer after allegedly attacking the officer with a shovel and broom handle.
DHS did not respond to requests for comment on the judge’s order or previous inquiries regarding Gibson’s case, AP indicated in a report.
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