A U.S. district judge ruled that state and local governments failed to meet the legal standard for emergency relief, allowing ICE’s Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis to continue.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A federal judge on Saturday rejected an emergency request to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis, ruling that plaintiffs failed to satisfy the high legal threshold required to stop federal authorities from enforcing immigration law.
U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Menendez denied the request for an emergency injunction sought by the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, along with the State of Minnesota. The lawsuit, filed earlier this month, aimed to halt Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale immigration enforcement initiative targeting criminal illegal aliens in the Twin Cities area.
In a 30-page order, Judge Menendez cited recent Eighth Circuit precedent emphasizing the significant harm imposed on the federal government when courts intervene to bar enforcement of federal law. “The Eighth Circuit has recently reiterated that entry of an injunction barring the federal government from enforcing federal law imposes significant harm on the government,” she wrote.
Menendez said federal defendants presented evidence showing that granting the injunction would undermine the government’s ability to enforce immigration statutes. “Defendants have presented evidence that entry of the injunction requested by Plaintiffs would harm the federal government’s efforts to enforce federal immigration laws,” the judge wrote.
Addressing the plaintiffs’ claims, Menendez said the balance of harms did not clearly favor emergency relief. “Balancing the harms described by Plaintiffs against the interests of Defendants is not as straightforward as Plaintiffs suggest,” she wrote, concluding that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate a sufficient likelihood of success on the merits. “Ultimately, the Court finds that the balance of harms does not decisively favor an injunction,” the order stated.
The ruling allows Operation Metro Surge to continue as litigation proceeds.
The Department of Homeland Security has said the enforcement effort has resulted in thousands of arrests. In a statement released last week, DHS said more than 3,000 dangerous criminal illegal aliens have been arrested in Minneapolis through the operation, including individuals convicted of murder, rape, gang-related crimes, and fraud.
“Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement and information regarding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of dangerous criminal illegal aliens in Minneapolis, Minnesota over the weekend including murderers, rapists, gang members, and perpetrators of fraud,” the department said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem credited the operation with improving public safety and sharply criticized local leadership. “We have arrested over 10,000 criminal illegal aliens who were killing Americans, hurting children and reigning terror in Minneapolis because Tim Walz and Jacob Frey refuse to protect their own people and instead protect criminals,” Noem said.
“In the last 6 weeks, our brave DHS law enforcement have arrested 3,000 criminal illegal aliens including vicious murderers, rapists, child pedophiles, and incredibly dangerous individuals. A huge victory for public safety,” she added.
With the emergency injunction denied, ICE’s Operation Metro Surge will continue as the broader lawsuit brought by Minnesota and its largest cities moves forward in federal court.
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