Federal judge hears arguments over lawsuit to end immigration action in Minnesota

Alex Derosier, Pioneer Press on Jan 26, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge on Monday heard arguments in a lawsuit to end a federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota, with attorneys representing the state, Minneapolis and St. Paul arguing that the surge is an act of retaliation and coercion against the state by President Donald Trump.

At a Minneapolis hearing on their request to temporarily suspend the deployment of several thousand additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents to the state, Minnesota attorneys called the federal escalation “unprecedented” and destructive.

They called for an immediate ruling from U.S. District Judge Katherine M. Menendez to prevent any further harm to the state.

“If this is not stopped right here, right now, I don’t think anybody who is seriously looking at this problem can have much faith in how our republic is going to go in the future,” said Assistant Minnesota Attorney General Brian Carter.

“What we have is a federal operation that is designed to cause havoc, that is designed to cause the local governments to experience pain, that is designed to cause the state of Minnesota to have to expend its resources,” he later argued, calling use of force in Minneapolis “jaw-dropping.”

Monday’s hearing comes after the second fatal shooting by federal immigration agents of an anti-ICE protester in Minnesota since the beginning of “Operation Metro Surge” last month. On Saturday, immigration agents shot to death 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. On Jan. 7, an agent fatally shot Renee Good, 37.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and city attorneys have argued the crackdown is not just leading to deaths and civil rights violations, but harm to public safety, health and education in the state, as well as its businesses. They noted reports of random detainments based on racial profiling.

Administration lawyers cite lack of local cooperation

Attorneys representing the Trump administration argued the purpose of the operation, which has brought roughly 4,000 immigration enforcement agents to the state, is a response to a lack of cooperation from local officials.

They claim that the state and counties have failed to turn over people in custody for crimes who are in the U.S. illegally — something the state Department of Corrections denies. ICE has claimed there are more than 1,300 people with immigration arrest detainers in Minnesota custody. The DOC counted just 94 in the state’s county jails.

“We are here because of this law enforcement vacuum,” Justice Department attorney Brantley Mayers told Menendez when questioned about the purpose of the crackdown. Attorneys representing the federal government have characterized the state and local challenges as an attempt to thwart law enforcement and impede their federal duties.

Letter from Pam Bondi

Lawyers for the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office said a Saturday letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding the state comply with immigration enforcement and turn over welfare and immigration data shows that a central purpose of “Operation Metro Surge” is coercion.

“Attorney General Pam Bondi sent what can only be described as a ransom note setting out the terms on which the federal government is holding Minnesota’s public safety, public health and public education hostage,” said Lindsey Middlecamp, an attorney with Ellison’s office.

Federal access to voter and welfare data are both subject to ongoing litigation, and attorneys with the state argued the Trump administration was using its power to gain concessions from the state when it had failed to do so through legal channels.

Menendez said that although the country is in “shockingly unusual times,” she was wary of wading into what could be seen as an immigration policy disagreement between state and federal authorities, noting that the unprecedented nature of the situation did not necessarily mean she could “craft a remedy.”

She also questioned whether it was her role to control all aspects of the dispute over federal immigration action in Minneapolis with numerous lawsuits seeking to challenge various aspects of the enforcement surge.

Judge did not say when she would rule

Earlier this month, Menendez ruled that federal agents couldn’t detain peaceful protesters or use tear gas on them, though that ruling was later suspended by an appeals court.

The matter before the court on Monday was not the lawsuit itself, but a decision on whether immigration operations should be suspended pending a final decision on the case.

Menendez, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden in 2021, did not say when she would rule, but said the matter was a high priority.

“If I had a burner in front of the front burner, this would be on it,” she said. “I do not intend in any way for the depth of my analysis or whatever time I take to write to be seen as a belief that this is unimportant …. It’s extremely important that I’m doing everything I can to get it right.”

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