A federal judge has sharply limited how federal immigration officers may respond to Minnesota demonstrators, shielding peaceful and unobstructive protest activity while still permitting agents to intervene when activists are forcibly obstructing their operations.
According to The Post Millennial, US District Judge Kate M. Menendez issued the order on Friday, imposing new constraints on Immigration and Customs Enforcement during protests even as she affirmed that agents may detain individuals who physically interfere with enforcement actions, such as Renee Good.
The ruling bars officers from deploying pepper spray or other crowd-control weapons, and Menendez granted a preliminary injunction after activists claimed immigration agents had trampled their constitutional rights.
Under the order, ICE personnel are enjoined from stopping or detaining drivers and passengers in vehicles where there is no reasonable articulable suspicion that they are forcibly obstructing or interfering with Covered Federal Agents. The lawsuit predates the fatal shooting of Good in Minneapolis, who was shot and killed by an immigration agent after obstructing operations and then appearing to drive her vehicle toward an officer.
In response to the injunction, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin insisted that DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters. As reported, McLaughlin noted that agents have endured repeated assaults by left-wing activists, including fireworks launched at officers, slashed vehicle tires, and grave threats."
She emphasized that agents have followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public and federal property. McLaughlin declined to speculate on whether the department would appeal Menendezs ruling, leaving open the prospect of further legal confrontation.
Menendez, a Biden appointee, stressed in her order that the courts injunction does nothing to prevent defendants from continuing to enforce immigration laws. Even so, the decision effectively narrows the tools available to federal officers at a time of escalating confrontation between activists and law enforcement.
Clashes have persisted across Minnesota since Goods death, with protesters demanding that federal immigration authorities withdraw from the state. Minnesota has simultaneously emerged as a central front in President Donald Trumps immigration agenda amid allegations of widespread fraud, particularly within the states Somali community.
The Department of Justice opened an investigation into Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over an alleged conspiracy to obstruct and impede federal immigration authorities. The probe underscores a deepening conflict between federal enforcement priorities and progressive state and local leaders who appear determined to shield activist networks from robust immigration law enforcement.
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