A federal judge quashed grand jury subpoenas issued to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other state officials, finding the Justice Department’s actions retaliatory.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A federal judge on Monday blocked grand jury subpoenas issued to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Attorney General Keith Ellison and other Minnesota officials as part of a Justice Department immigration enforcement investigation.
U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, quashed the subpoenas after finding they were retaliatory.
The subpoenas were issued in January as part of a Justice Department criminal investigation into whether Walz, Frey and other Minnesota officials interfered with Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. According to CBS News, the investigation focused on public statements made by Walz and Frey.
The dispute followed the deployment of thousands of federal agents to Minneapolis earlier this year to arrest illegal alien criminals. Walz and Frey criticized the Trump administration over the immigration enforcement operation, with Frey demanding that residents and local police oppose ICE agents in the street.
The Justice Department issued subpoenas to six Minnesota officials.
Schiltz wrote that the subpoenas came amid a broader conflict between the Trump administration and jurisdictions that restrict local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
“From the beginning of his current term in office, President Trump and members of his administration have taken aim at so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions-that is, jurisdictions “that limit the use of local resources to assist in federal immigration enforcement,”” the judge wrote.
Schiltz cited Trump’s remarks about Minnesota, its Somali population and Democratic-led cities, as well as administration actions targeting sanctuary policies.
“President Trump has repeatedly insulted Minnesota generally and its Somali population in particular; targeted Democratic-led cities for expanded deportation efforts;3 asserted that Democratic officials who oppose the deployment of National Guard troops for immigration enforcement should be jailed; issued multiple executive orders threatening to cut off federal funding to “sanctuary” jurisdictions;5 and sued Minnesota and some of its political subdivisions seeking to invalidate state and local provisions limiting assistance to federal immigration officials,” the judge said.
The ruling halts the grand jury subpoenas while leaving the broader conflict over immigration enforcement, sanctuary policies and federal authority unresolved.
The case adds to a series of legal and political fights between the Trump administration and Democratic-led jurisdictions over the role state and local officials must play in federal immigration enforcement.