Federal officers involved in a major U.S. immigration enforcement operation in the Minneapolis area are now prohibited from detaining or using tear gas on peaceful protesters, including observers. U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez delivered the ruling on Friday, following a case filed in December by six Minnesota activists.
The decision comes as thousands have been monitoring the activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol officers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area since early December, amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Additionally, the ruling prevents officers from detaining drivers and passengers in vehicles unless there is reasonable suspicion they are obstructing or interfering with official duties.
Safely following agents “at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop,” the ruling said.
Menendez said the agents would not be allowed to arrest people without probable cause or reasonable suspicion the person has committed a crime or was obstructing or interfering with the activities of officers.
The activists in the case are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, which says government officers are violating the constitutional rights of Twin Cities residents.
Government attorneys argued that the officers have been acting within their legal authority to enforce immigration laws and protect themselves.
Menendez is also presiding over a lawsuit filed Monday by the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul seeking to suspend the enforcement crackdown, and some of the legal issues are similar. She declined at a hearing Wednesday to grant the state’s request for an immediate temporary restraining order in that case.
“What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature needs to be lowered,” state Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter told her.
Menendez said the issues raised by the state and cities in that case are “enormously important.” But she said it raises high-level constitutional and other legal issues, and for some of those issues there are few on-point precedents. So she ordered both sides to file more briefs next week.
