A federal judge on Saturday denied a request from Minnesota, Minneapolis, and St. Paul for a halt to federal immigration enforcement in the city as part of Operation Metro Surge.
The ruling comes weeks after she had sided against the Trump administration in an order restricting federal officers’ crowd-control tactics in Minneapolis.
“At this stage, the Court makes no final determination on the merits of any claims asserted by Plaintiffs. Nor does the Court offer any opinion about the wisdom of Operation Metro Surge,” Judge Katherine Menendez, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, wrote. “And the legality of many of the specific actions taken by federal agents during the operation is not before the Court in this case.”
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State and local authorities had filed for a preliminary injunction from the court, meaning that federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis would be suspended while the court deliberated whether they were legal.
Minnesota leaders justified the extraordinary measure because of complaints that ICE officers allegedly racially profiled suspects and harshly treated anti-ICE protesters. Local authorities argued that the operation disrupted education, healthcare, and religious observances in the city and sapped local law enforcement resources.
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Ultimately, the court decided that any perceived harms caused by Operation Metro Surge were not sufficient to outweigh the obligation of respecting federal enforcement of the law. The decision comes in the wake of a recent drawdown, led by White House border czar Tom Homan, of federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis.
“Tom Homan says he wants to do things differently, but we have yet to see meaningful change,” Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) wrote on X. “The only way to ensure the safety of the people of Minnesota is for the federal government to draw down their forces and end this campaign of brutality.”
A federal appeals court on Monday also sided with the Trump administration, reversing a previous order by Menendez restricting ICE’s law enforcement tactics in Minneapolis. The stay will remain while the government’s appeal continues to be heard.
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“The DOJ went to court. We got a temporary stay. NOW, the 8th Circuit has fully agreed that this reckless attempt to undermine law enforcement cannot stand,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
Menendez had acknowledged in her Jan. 16 order that anti-ICE protesters had demonstrated an “ongoing, persistent pattern” of attempting to intimidate ICE officers.
