A federal judge on Saturday rejected Minnesota’s request to force Immigration and Customs Enforcement to suspend its broad detention and deportation operation in the state.
Judge Katherine Menendez ruled that the “balance of harms does not decisively favor an injunction,” denying the state’s bid for a temporary restraining order. She did not make a final determination on the merits of Minnesota’s case or whether the federal operation violated the law.
Minnesota had argued that the month-long operation, dubbed Metro Surge, infringed on the state’s sovereignty. Federal authorities under President Donald Trump have conducted sweeps in Minnesota communities targeting undocumented migrants, detaining thousands and killing two U.S. citizens, sparking widespread outrage.
The ruling came after massive protests on Friday, when tens of thousands of Minnesotans rallied against the operation, which has also faced opposition from state Democratic leaders.
Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis, the city most affected by the sweeps, expressed disappointment in a statement. “This decision doesn’t change what people here have lived through — fear, disruption, and harm caused by a federal operation that never belonged in Minneapolis in the first place,” he said.
The killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by masked, heavily armed agents drew nationwide condemnation. Following the outcry, Trump replaced Customs and Border Protection commander Gregory Bovino with Tom Homan, who pledged to reduce the operation under certain conditions.
Ahead of the ruling, Hamline University politics and legal studies professor David Schultz said Minnesota contended that the federal government, through ICE and related actions, was attempting to coerce the state into compliance with national immigration enforcement.
