A federal judge on Saturday denied Minnesota’s request to temporarily block the Trump administration’s deployment of thousands of federal immigration agents in the Twin Cities, allowing the operation to continue while legal challenges proceed.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez said in her ruling that the enforcement effort “has had, and will likely continue to have, profound and even heartbreaking consequences on the State of Minnesota.” However, she concluded that state officials had not demonstrated that the federal government’s actions were unlawful.
Minnesota argued that the deployment of roughly 3,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection agents violated the Constitution’s 10th Amendment by pressuring the state and local governments to abandon sanctuary-style policies and cooperate more fully with federal authorities. Menendez said the state failed to establish a clear legal standard for when federal enforcement becomes unconstitutional commandeering of state resources.
“There is evidence supporting both sides’ arguments as to motivation,” the judge wrote, adding that the court could not conclude at this stage that the state was likely to succeed on the merits of its claims.
In her ruling, Menendez acknowledged evidence that federal agents may have engaged in racial profiling, excessive use of force, and other harmful conduct during the operation. Still, she said those allegations alone were not sufficient to justify halting enforcement activity.
The decision comes amid continued protests nationwide following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during separate encounters with federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month. Demonstrations were held Friday in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, with organizers urging Americans to stay home from work and school as part of a coordinated protest effort.
Good was killed on Jan. 7, while Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, was shot and killed later in the month. Earlier Friday, the Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into Pretti’s death.
Protests continued Saturday in Minneapolis, where demonstrators gathered in multiple locations. Organizers said the demonstrations were intended to oppose immigration enforcement actions and draw attention to what they describe as excessive force and civil rights violations.
Federal officials have defended the operation, saying it targets serious criminal offenders. The Department of Homeland Security has described the effort as focused on removing “the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” though critics argue that people with no criminal records and U.S. citizens have been caught up in the operation.
On Thursday, Trump administration border adviser Tom Homan said federal authorities could consider scaling back the operation if local officials cooperated with enforcement efforts. “We are not surrendering our mission,” he said. “We’re just doing it smarter.”
President Donald Trump said the same day that the administration would continue its enforcement efforts to maintain public safety.
Dubbed Operation Metro Surge, the initiative has drawn strong opposition from state and local leaders. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have both called for federal agents to withdraw from the city.