Judge restricts immigration agents’ tactics in Minnesota
A federal judge in Minnesota has ordered limits on how U.S. immigration agents can respond to protests in the Minneapolis area, blocking tactics such as arresting peaceful demonstrators or using tear gas and other crowd-control weapons.
U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez issued the injunction on Friday, ruling that federal agents may not retaliate against individuals engaged in non-violent, non-obstructive protest or observation. The order also protects observers and people recording enforcement operations, barring arrests unless officers have reasonable suspicion of interference or a crime, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed on December 17 against the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies on behalf of six protesters and observers who said their constitutional rights had been violated. The case was filed three weeks before an immigration agent fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis on January 7, an incident that intensified local protests and criticism of the federal deployment.
In her 83-page decision, Menendez said the government had failed to justify the need to arrest or use force against peaceful observers and prohibited traffic stops that target drivers or passengers without evidence they are interfering with law enforcement.
The injunction arrives amid heightened tensions following the Trump administration’s decision to send thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents to the Minneapolis–St. Paul metro area, which local officials have called excessive and unsafe. The number of deployed agents has grown to nearly 3,000, far exceeding local police staffing.
While largely siding with the plaintiffs, Menendez declined to extend the injunction statewide or to restrict federal actions more broadly. The Department of Homeland Security has not yet commented on the ruling.
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