Federal Judge Curbs ICE Tactics in Minnesota as DOJ Probes State and City Leaders

Overview

• U.S. District Judge Kate M. Menendez issued a preliminary injunction blocking federal immigration agents in the Twin Cities from detaining or retaliating against peaceful protesters and observers without reasonable suspicion.
• The 83-page order bars the use of pepper spray, tear gas and other crowd-control munitions on nonviolent demonstrators, and restricts stops of vehicles not breaking the law, in a case brought by the ACLU of Minnesota.
• The Justice Department is investigating Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for possible obstruction of federal law tied to the ICE surge, with reports of grand jury subpoenas as both officials denounce the probe as intimidation.
• Roughly 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents remain deployed in the Minneapolis area under Operation Metro Surge, following the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Nicole Good and a separate shooting that wounded a Venezuelan man, as President Trump has threatened but not invoked the Insurrection Act.
• Mexico’s Foreign Ministry demanded explanations for a death of a Mexican citizen in ICE custody in Georgia, and the State Department posted a Portuguese message warning would-be migrants they could be jailed and deported, reflecting a broader escalation in hardline enforcement and messaging.