Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty statement on federal action at Government Center

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty released the following statement after federal agents took two individuals into custody at the Hennepin County Government Center Thursday morning:

"This morning, ICE arrested two individuals charged with criminal sexual conduct before we had an opportunity to hold them accountable for their alleged offenses. ICE is harming crime victims by denying them a court process. ICE is degrading public safety by detaining individuals who have not been convicted of a crime and preventing victims and witnesses from seeking the accountability they deserve.

Our courts are not staging grounds for federal immigration enforcement. These actions make it more difficult, and in some cases impossible, to get victims and witnesses to come to court to testify. Using local taxpayer resources to assist the federal government in civil immigration enforcement is inappropriate.

We are reviewing the situation to provide transparency about who was involved and what precisely transpired."