Federal choose Kate Menendez denied Minnesota’s movement for a brief restraining order to halt “Operation Metro Surge” on Saturday. The court docket paperwork, filed on Saturday, say that Minnesota and its cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul haven’t met their burden of proof.
The argument to halt operations, partially, said that the federal operation is “inflicting hurt to the Twin Cities and State themselves, in addition to their residents.” Legal professionals with the U.S. Division of Justice have known as the lawsuit “legally frivolous.”
Within the court docket paperwork, Menendez cited one other current case the place the Eighth Circuit Court docket of Appeals just lately vacated the preliminary injunction ruling that restricted the power federal brokers can use on peaceable protesters, saying that court docket case had “way more settled precedent” in that case and that “the Court docket of Appeals decided that the injunction would trigger irreparable hurt to the federal government as a result of it will hamper their efforts to implement federal legislation.” Menendez additionally wrote, “If that injunction went too far, then halting the whole operation definitely would.”
“As a result of there’s proof supporting either side’ arguments as to motivation and the relative deserves of every facet’s competing positions are unclear, the Court docket is reluctant to search out that the likelihood-of-success issue weighs sufficiently in favor of granting a preliminary injunction,” the choose mentioned within the ruling.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey launched an announcement after Menendez’s ruling that said partially:
“In fact, we’re upset. This resolution does not change what folks right here have lived by way of — concern, disruption, and hurt brought on by a federal operation that by no means belonged in Minneapolis within the first place. This operation has not introduced public security. It is introduced the alternative and has detracted from the order we want for a working metropolis. It is an invasion, and it must cease.”
The state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have sought a brief restraining order of their lawsuit in opposition to Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem and different Trump administration officers.
U.S. Legal professional Basic Pam Bondi took to social media Saturday to laud the ruling, calling it “one other HUGE” authorized win for the Justice Division on X.
Minnesota’s argument
The state filed the lawsuit claiming the Trump administration has “violated the tenth Modification of the U.S. Structure,” by way of infringement of police energy and illegal coercion. Minnesota alleges it “has been singled out and focused by ICE in a means that no different state has skilled.”
Within the court docket submitting, Minnesota argues that the operation just isn’t motivated by “a reliable law-enforcement objective” however somewhat serves as a “pretext for leveraging calls for and punishing political leaders throughout the State and Twin Cities who oppose the Trump administration’s immigration insurance policies.”
The state additionally claims that one of many Trump administration’s true targets is getting access to Minnesota’s voter rolls.
Court docket paperwork additionally state that the large-scale presence of federal brokers has disrupted the healthcare trade, affected native companies and stopped residents from going to spiritual providers. The state additionally claims that “federal officers’ use of power and being detained on their method to and from faculty had had ‘damaging impacts on attendance and pupil focus'” forcing a number of faculty districts to quickly shut.
Trump administration’s argument
The Trump administration argues Operation Metro Surge was launched “to deal with the hazards arising from the presence of unlawful aliens within the Twin Cities.” The administration additionally argues the hazards are exacerbated by Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul’s sanctuary metropolis insurance policies.
The Division of Justice filed a 34-page lawsuit in 2025 alleging “Minnesota officers are jeopardizing the protection of their very own residents by permitting unlawful aliens to bypass the authorized course of.”
The Trump administration additionally claims that Operation Metro Surge has “strictly been in furtherance of “the enforcement of federal legislation,” consistent with President Trump’s marketing campaign guarantees.”
