State officials are suing the Trump administration to halt a sweeping immigration enforcement operation across the Minneapolis area.
The action is brought by the state of Minnesota and its cities of Minneapolis and St. Paullagainst. According to a lawsuit filed in federal court Monday, Jan. 12th the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paull have sued the DHS in federal court because the DHS is engaged in a program called “Operation Metro Surge” that exceeds the limits of the Constitution.
In its lawsuit, Minnesota argues that it poses danger to its residents, as well as inhibits normal living in public spaces. In its lawsuit, Minnesota argues directly that:
“Being free from unlawful seizures, excessive force, and retaliation are not a list of aspirations that Minnesotans deserve. These are rights that are protected in state and federal law.”
The lawsuit appears to link the beginning of Operation Metro Surge to December of 2025 and alleges its implementation involved “thousands” of DHS agents in Minneapolis-St. Paul. In support, it quotes DHS assertions that more than 2,000 agents were deployed to the region. Minnesota purportedly believes that a surge of DHS agents contradicts state sovereignty protections such as the Tenth Amendment, echoed by other federal statutes set out in the lawsuit. DHS Officials are listed as defendants.
This lawsuit follows a deadly shooting related to ICE intervention last week and has raised further tensions between Minnesota authorities and the Trump administration in recent days. The lawsuit refers back to the Jan. 7 death of a Minneapolis resident, killed in a confrontation with federal immigration agents.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension indicated it had expected to cooperate in an investigation between state and federal agents but backed out when it discovered federal prosecutors had changed their mind and federal agents would not grant it access to what it needs to carry out its analysis.
DHS has been justifying the Minnesota deployment in public, emphasizing the arrests made as a result of the operation in their latest reports. The department has also released another statement emphasizing arrests in Minneapolis. On the same day, a similar federal case has been filed by the state of Illinois and the City of Chicago in an effort to prevent so-called immigration “sweeps,” among other immigration enforcement activities.
