The problem
The Problem
Escalating in 2025, DHS invaded Minnesota. People have been falsely arrested, wrongfully detained, attacked with tear gas, assaulted with rubber bullets, pushed, shoved, denied medical care, and racially profiled. We need to help these folks fight back.
Lawyers have stepped up to take their cases on contingency but the litigation expenses can be a real barrier. The most common way to sue is through the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). Each person must first file an administrative complaint and then, six months later, file an FTCA lawsuit against the federal government in federal court in Minnesota.
A person of any citizenship can use this process.
Every case filed is a chance for survivors and victims to seek justice - and for the public to learn more about how these agencies operate and pursue accountability. The fund makes it easier for community members to take legal action. The lawsuits will generate compensation for victims and create a detailed record of the abuse inflicted by DHS on the people of Minnesota. That record will fuel reform.
Common expenses
Fees for filing in federal court: $490
Officer depositions: $700-$1,000 each
Services from use-of-force, medical, or other experts: $5,000+ each
Processing fees for obtaining records or footage: costs vary with volume
BOARD
Board members are volunteers and will not benefit in any way from the funds raised for this project.
Corinne Shanahan is an anti-carceral organizer and lawyer based in Minneapolis.
She works as a policy fellow focused on prison journalism at the Institute to End Mass Incarceration, where she leverages her experience in student organizing, criminal law, and independent media.
Alphonse A. Gerhardstein is is a partner in the civil rights firm of Friedman, Gilbert +Gerhardstein. For 50 years he has litigated civil rights issues including police misconduct, race, sex, sexual orientation and disability discrimination, prisoner rights, voting rights, and reproductive health issues. Gerhardstein has served as lead counsel on numerous civil rights class actions including one that reformed Ohio’s juvenile prisons and another that resulted in Cincinnati’s Collaborative Agreement, which has been repeatedly cited as a national model for police reform. He was lead counsel in Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court case establishing marriage equality for same sex couples in all 50 states. Mr. Gerhardstein is the Founder of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center in Cincinnati which pursues criminal justice reform and litigates human rights in prison. He earned his J.D. degree from and was a Root Tilden Scholar at New York University. His significant civil rights papers are housed at the Archives and Rare Books Library at the University of Cincinnati. Mr. Gerhardstein litigates causes, not just cases, and pursues reforms in all of his practice areas. He now lives in St Paul, Minnesota, and continues some work in Cincinnati.
Aliya Rahman is a Minneapolis-based software engineer with a 15-year background in computer security and digital tool-making for the private and nonprofit sectors. In January of 2026, she was arrested without charge by ICE agents on the way to routine treatment for a preexisting traumatic brain injury. She testified to Congress about the inhumane treatment of her fellow Minnesotans and the denial of medical care and disability accommodations she experienced in detention. Her legal team has filed a Federal Tort Claims Act complaint against CBP, ICE, and DHS related to their actions in January. She spends her open time organizing with survivors, attorneys, and donors to remove barriers to the use of the FTCA process as a tool for accountability in cases of harm by federal law enforcement. She hopes this can help to build one of many paths toward humane immigration practices and public safety systems in the United States.