A federal judge on Saturday denied Minnesota’s emergency request to halt a surge of federal immigration enforcement agents in the Twin Cities region.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez said her ruling does not make a final determination on the state’s claim that the federal government has overstepped its authority. She also stressed the decision was not a ruling on the legality of specific actions taken by federal agents.
Menendez wrote that granting the injunction would “harm the federal government’s efforts to enforce federal immigration laws.”
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“The Court must view plaintiffs’ claims through the lens of the specific legal framework they invoke, and, having done so, finds that plaintiffs have not met their burden,” she wrote.
The judge noted Minnesota officials did not explain how to draw a clear line between what is constitutionally permissible and what is not.
State officials alleged the Trump administration targeted Minnesota as “political retribution” and gave the state unequal treatment, saying other states with larger undocumented populations could see bigger surges in enforcement activity.
But Menendez ruled the state failed to show how the executive branch’s discretionary decisions violate the law.
