The presence of migration agents caused tension among the population, who took to the streets to protest; two protesters died at the hands of federal agents
One American judge rejected this Saturday (31) the order from the state of Minnesota to force Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to suspend its large-scale operations in the state.
As federal authorities carried out operations in search of undocumented immigrants by order of President Donald Trump last month in this northern US state.
A The presence of migratory agents caused tension in the populationwho took to the streets to protest ICE. Two protesters died at the hands of federal agents.
Minnesota argued that the operation ordered by government violated their state rightsbut federal judge Katherine Menendez wrote in her ruling: “Ultimately, the court finds that the balance of damages does not decisively favor the granting of injunctive relief.”
Menendez emphasized that this decision does not constitute a definitive judgment on the general action presented by the state.
She also did not comment on whether ICE’s violent operations against migrants broke the law.
The sentence was handed down following a massive protest by tens of thousands of Minnesotans on Friday against Operation Metro Surge, which the state’s Democratic leadership also opposes.
“Disappointed”
Democrat Jacob Frey, mayor of Minneapolis, the largest city in Minnesota and the main target of federal operations, said: “Of course we are disappointed.”
“This decision does not change what people have experienced here: the fear, disruption and damage caused by a federal operation that should never have occurred in Minneapolis,” he added in a statement.
and heavily armed weapons provoked protests across the country, which forced Trump to replace the head of the operation in Minnesota, Gregory Bovino, in command of the operation in Minnesota, with his trusted ally in the area of migration, Tom Homan, who committed to reducing operations in the region.
David Schultz, a professor of politics and legal studies at Hamline University, said Minnesota argued in its lawsuit that the government was “trying to force or coerce the state to do certain things.”
“Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to the state of Minnesota after the death of Alex Pretti in which he said, ‘Well, if you want ICE to cease operations, we want you to do this, this and this.’ It felt like a threat,” Schultz said.
Bondi described the judge’s decision as a “huge” legal victory for the Justice Department.
“Neither sanctuary policies nor baseless lawsuits will stop the Trump Administration from enforcing federal law in Minnesota,” he wrote on X.
*With information from AFP
