Federal Judge Denies Minnesota Emergency Request To Halt Operation Metro Surge
U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez has denied an emergency motion filed by the State of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul seeking to immediately end “Operation Metro Surge.” The ruling allows the controversial federal immigration enforcement initiative, which has deployed thousands of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE agents to the Twin Cities, to continue while litigation proceeds.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and local officials had requested a temporary restraining order, arguing that the federal operation violates the Tenth Amendment by infringing on state sovereignty and effectively commandeering local law enforcement resources. The plaintiffs contend that the surge is not a standard law enforcement action but a politically motivated occupation that has endangered public safety, citing allegations of racial profiling, excessive force, and recent fatal encounters between federal agents and civilians. State officials argue the heavy federal presence has disrupted schools, businesses, and local policing duties.
Federal attorneys representing the Trump administration countered that the operation is a lawful exercise of federal authority to enforce immigration laws and apprehend individuals with criminal records. They argued that state and local governments cannot hold a “veto” over federal law enforcement activities within their borders and that the request to bar federal agents was legally baseless.
In her decision, Judge Menendez declined to issue the extraordinary relief of an emergency injunction, noting the high legal burden required to halt executive branch law enforcement operations. While the judge denied the immediate effort to stop the surge, the underlying lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the operation remains active in federal court.
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