By Mariah Timms
A federal judge on Saturday declined to immediately halt the federal immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, saying she lacked the authority to do so at this point.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez issued the ruling in response to a lawsuit filed by the state of Minnesota, which alleged the federal government used its aggressive enforcement campaign, dubbed Operation Metro Surge, to coerce changes in state policies and punish Democratic officials it disliked.
She wrote that although the operation had "profound and even heartbreaking consequences" on the Twin Cities, she didn't have the authority to halt it at this early stage of litigation.
"The Court can readily imagine scenarios where the federal executive must legitimately vary its use of law enforcement resources from one state to the next, and there is no precedent for a court to micromanage such decisions," Menendez wrote in the ruling.
The enforcement surge began in December, following a welfare-fraud scandal that drew the Trump administration's attention to Minnesota's Somali community. The influx of immigration officers and ramped-up operations, including roving patrols, sparked tense protests that at times turned violent. In separate incidents, two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot by federal officers.
After Pretti's death, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, urging him to comply with a list of requests that, she said, would restore order in the state. Among them were ending sanctuary policies and handing over state voter registration information.
In the midst of the national outcry over Pretti's death, Menendez held a hearing to consider whether to grant Minnesota's request for an order curbing the surge.
The Trump administration argued it was properly sending federal resources to enforce the law. Immigration is broadly under the control of the executive branch.
"The purpose of Operation Metro Surge has been, from the beginning, the enforcement of federal law. And the actions of federal officers over the past six weeks match this purpose," lawyers for the federal government wrote. "There is no dispute that federal law, and federal law alone, has been the subject of enforcement."
Menendez, an appointee of then-President Biden, questioned her own authority to issue a broad injunction against the executive branch's deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, but seemed concerned about the pressure from the administration, including the list of requests from Bondi.
The Trump administration has since taken steps to ease some of the tensions in Minnesota. It removed one of the most prominent faces of the operation, Border Patrol's Greg Bovino, from the city. Tom Homan, the White House border czar, was dispatched to reset relations. In a press conference on Thursday, Homan said he was committed to immigration enforcement, but acknowledged mistakes and said he would begin drawing down the federal presence.
Write to Mariah Timms at mariah.timms@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 31, 2026 12:32 ET (17:32 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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