Protesters march during the “National Shutdown” demonstration against ICE enforcement in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 30, 2026.
Stephen Maturen | Getty Images
A federal judge on Saturday rejected a request by state officials to immediately halt a surge in federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota.
The court said the plaintiffs, the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify issuing an emergency order immediately halting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the state.
The immigration enforcement crackdown by federal agents in Minnesota “has had, and is likely to continue to have, serious and even heartbreaking consequences,” U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez said in her ruling.
Mr. Menendez did not make a determination as to whether the activity itself was legal. Rather, the ruling said, the plaintiffs did not meet the criteria required for an emergency order requiring an immediate halt to their activities.
The decision comes amid widespread protests and backlash against federal immigration enforcement efforts in the state, particularly in the wake of the deadly shootings by immigration officers in Minneapolis of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Preti.
Attorney General Pam Bondi called the ruling “huge.” “Neither sanctuary policies nor frivolous lawsuits will stop the Trump administration from enforcing federal law in Minnesota,” she said in a post on X.
