Following the fatal shootings in Minneapolis, a federal judge heard arguments Monday over the Minnesota challenge to Trump’s immigration enforcement.
Monday saw US District Judge Katherine Menendez considering whether to temporarily halt the immigration crackdown in Minnesota. This comes after two fatal shootings by federal officers have shocked the nation.
Live 5 News reports that Judge Menendez is considering whether to grant requests by the state and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to temporarily halt Trump’s immigration operation. According to the judge, the case was a priority, but as yet, she has issued no immediate ruling.
During the session, Menendez questioned the US government’s motivation behind the crackdown. She also expressed skepticism over a letter sent by Attorney General Pam Bondi to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. In the letter, Bondi requested the state to give the federal government access to voter rolls, details of state Medicaid and food assistance records, and to repeal sanctuary policies.
“I mean is there no limit to what the executive can do under the guise of enforcing immigration law?” Menendez asked, while noting that these federal requests are the subject of litigation.
After a second shooting of an American citizen during immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, lawyers for the state and the Twin Cities argue that the situation on the street is so dire, that it requires the court to put a halt on Trump’s enforcement actions.
“If this is not stopped right here, right now, I don’t think anybody who is seriously looking at this problem can have much faith in how our republic is going to go in the future,” Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter said.
The judge questioned where the line was between violating the Constitution and the Trump administration’s power to enforce the law. Menendez also asked of she is being asked to decide between state and federal policies.
“That begins to feel very much like I am deciding which policy approach is best,” she said.
During the hearing, while discussing the prospect of federal officers entering homes without a warrant, the judge was reluctant to decide issues not yet brought before her in a lawsuit.
“I can’t be the global keeper of all things here. Like, presumably that will be litigated,” she said to the state’s attorney.
Meanwhile, Menendez explained that she is struggling with how to rule, as the case is so unusual, with few precedents in case law to guide her.
“It’s because this is important that I’m doing everything I can to get it right,” she said.
The judge is overseeing a case where the state of Minnesota and the cities are suing the Department of Homeland Security that was launched five days after Renee Good was shot by an Immigration and Customs officer. Moreover, the more recent shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol officer on Saturday also added urgency to the case.
While President Donald Trump initially criticized Walz for his actions on immigration issues in Minnesota, the tide has started to turn. Trump said that he had a “very good” call with Walz on the latest shooting, and that they are now on a “similar wavelength.” He said he will send border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota and that he will report directly to him.
This comes after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, the public face of the crackdown, answered questions at news conferences this past weekend about Alex Pretti’s shooting.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Homan would be “the main point of contact on the ground in Minneapolis” during continued operations by federal immigration officers.
In court Monday, an attorney for the administration said about 2,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were on the ground in Minneapolis, as well as at least 1,000 Border Patrol officers.
In the lawsuit, the judge was asked to order a reduction in the number of federal law enforcement officers and agents in Minnesota. It was requested that this is brought back to the level prior to the surge, and to reduce the scope of the enforcement operation.
Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said Sunday that the lawsuit is necessary due to “the unprecedented nature of this surge. It is a novel abuse of the Constitution that we’re looking at right now. No one can remember a time when we’ve seen something like this.”
“If left unchecked, the federal government will no doubt be emboldened to continue its unlawful conduct in Minnesota and to repeat it elsewhere,” the attorneys general wrote.
Menendez ruled in a separate case on January 16 that federal officers in Minnesota cannot detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who are not obstructing authorities, including those who follow and observe the agents.
