Minnesota judge rejects plea to halt Trump's immigration enforcement surge; Minneapolis mayor Frey says ‘disappointed’

A federal judge Katherine M. Menendez on Saturday said she will not stop US President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota and the Twin Cities. She rejected a request for a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed earlier this month by state Attorney General Keith Ellison and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul, according to AP.

In a statement, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said that he was "disappointed" by the ruling.

The suit claimed that the Department of Homeland Security is violating constitutional protections and sought an immediate order to halt the enforcement effort or restrict its scope. Attorneys for the US Department of Justice have described the lawsuit as “legally frivolous".

The judge’s decision on the injunction centered on Minnesota officials’ claim that the federal government is violating the Constitution’s 10th Amendment, which restricts federal authority from encroaching on state sovereignty. In her ruling, the judge placed significant weight on whether that argument was likely to prevail in the case overall.

Federal government stated that the enforcement surge, known as Operation Metro Surge, is needed to remove criminal immigrants from the streets and said federal efforts have been obstructed by state and local “sanctuary laws and policies".

State and local officials contend that the surge constitutes retaliation after the federal government’s earlier efforts to withhold funding to compel immigration cooperation did not succeed. They also argue that the surge has created an unconstitutional burden on state and local resources, pointing out that schools and businesses have been closed following what local officials describe as aggressive, poorly trained and armed federal officers.

The judge said her decision was also shaped by the government’s recent win at the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which had overturned her earlier ruling that placed limits on how immigration officers could use force against peaceful protesters in Minnesota, the report noted.

“If that injunction went too far, then the one at issue here — halting the entire operation — certainly would,” Menendez added.

He further said, “This operation has not brought public safety. It’s brought the opposite and has detracted from the order we need for a working city. It’s an invasion, and it needs to stop.”

Meanwhile, US Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the ruling on X, describing it as “another HUGE” legal win for the Justice Department.

The state, and especially the city of Minneapolis, has been tense after federal officers fatally shot two individuals on Minneapolis streets: Renee Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24. The incidents have prompted thousands to protest the federal action in Minnesota and across the country.