Federal Judge Rejects Dem-Led Bid To Limit ICE Enforcement in Minneapolis

A federal judge on Saturday refused Minnesota’s request to temporarily block the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement operation, allowing the federal effort to continue as the lawsuit proceeds.

Minnesota, joined by the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, had asked a federal court for a preliminary injunction to halt Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s deployment of thousands of immigration enforcement officers to the Twin Cities area. State and local officials argued the operation exceeded federal authority and infringed on state sovereignty, pointing in part to two recent deaths that occurred during enforcement actions.

U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, ruled that the plaintiffs failed to meet the demanding legal threshold required to justify an immediate pause. In her written decision, Menendez said the state did not demonstrate it was likely to succeed on the merits of its constitutional claims, a key requirement for granting such extraordinary relief.

“Plaintiffs ask the Court to extend existing precedent to a new context where its application is less direct — namely, to an unprecedented deployment of armed federal immigration officers to aggressively enforce immigration statutes,” Menendez wrote.

“None of the cases on which they rely have even come close,” she added.

While acknowledging that the enforcement surge has had serious effects on local communities and has drawn national attention, the judge emphasized that her ruling did not constitute a final judgment on the legality of the operation itself. Instead, she stressed that the court was declining to intervene at this early stage of the case.

Democratic officials in Minnesota quickly criticized the decision. Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said they would continue pressing their lawsuit, arguing the federal operation has disrupted daily life and raises unresolved constitutional concerns.

“We’re obviously disappointed in the court’s ruling today, but this case is in its infancy and there is much legal road in front of us, so we’re fighting on,” Ellison said in a statement. “We will continue to protect Minnesotans and raise the critical legal and constitutional issues at stake, and we will continue to be unrelenting in doing so.”

Federal officials, meanwhile, defended Operation Metro Surge as a lawful exercise of federal immigration authority and welcomed the court’s decision. Attorney General Pam Bondi characterized the ruling as another courtroom victory for President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda.

“Another HUGE @TheJusticeDept legal win in Minnesota just now: a Biden-appointed district judge denied Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s attempt to keep ICE out of Minnesota,” Bondi wrote Saturday on social platform X.

“Neither sanctuary policies nor meritless litigation will stop the Trump Administration from enforcing federal law in Minnesota,” she added.

The lawsuit follows a second fatal shooting involving federal agents in Minneapolis. Last month, residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti were shot and killed during immigration enforcement operations after confronting or interfering with officers. Both incidents remain under investigation.

Those shootings have intensified Democratic calls for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign or face impeachment. Noem has rejected those demands, and President Trump has publicly backed her leadership.

“I think she’s done a very good job,” Trump said this week. “The border is totally secure.”

Noem reinforced the administration’s message on Friday by releasing a video highlighting Americans killed by illegal immigrants, describing the victims as “who we fight for” as enforcement efforts accelerate nationwide.

“We are deporting criminals from America so that no family will have to suffer a tragedy like this ever again,” Noem wrote in a post on X alongside the 46 second video, which featured dozens of victims.