A Biden-appointed federal judge in Minnesota has sharply curtailed the tools federal immigration agents may use in dealing with protesters, raising fresh concerns about public safety and the ability of law enforcement to maintain order during volatile demonstrations.
According to the Daily Caller, U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez issued a preliminary injunction Friday barring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal officers from deploying pepper spray or similar crowd-control devices against individuals engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity.
The order also prohibits officers from stopping drivers who are merely observing immigration enforcement operations and from retaliating against protesters, marking the latest turn in a lawsuit filed Dec. 17, 2025, against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over alleged First Amendment violations.
The case, driven by activists and backed by the left-wing American Civil Liberties Union and several law firms, accuses federal agents of using excessive force and arresting individuals who were not unlawfully interfering with operations. Plaintiffs have shown that they have a fair chance of demonstrating that it was their protected conduct speech, protest, and observation that motivated Defendants adverse actions, Menendez wrote, signaling a willingness to second-guess on-the-ground decisions by trained officers.
DHS officials, however, insist their personnel have acted within the law and in defense of public safety amid increasingly aggressive demonstrations. DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told The New York Times, adding that agents have followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public and federal property.
Menendez, while siding with the protesters at this early stage, acknowledged that her ruling does nothing to prevent [agents] from continuing to enforce immigration laws. Still, by restricting standard crowd-control tools, the injunction may complicate efforts to secure federal property and neighborhoods where ICE operations occur, such as the Minneapolis residential area that has become a flashpoint.
The legal battle intensified after an ICE agent fatally shot activist Renee Good, 37, in Minneapolis, an incident that drew nationwide scrutiny and further inflamed tensions. DHS maintains that Good drove her car toward the agent and that her vehicle struck him, injuring his torso, underscoring the real physical risks officers face even as courts and activists seek to narrow their options.
As unrest and organized resistance to immigration enforcement grow, President Donald Trump has already warned local leaders that he is prepared to act, having threatened Thursday to invoke the Insurrection Act as part of a military response in Minneapolis if local officials do not stop rioters from endangering law enforcement.
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