A federal judge on Monday heard arguments but did not immediately rule on the state of Minnesota’s request for an immediate end to widespread immigration enforcement that has caused fear, chaos and the slaying of two observers on the streets of Minneapolis.
U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Menendez will consider the state’s motion for a temporary restraining order, which seeks to end Operation Metro Surge, which has been described as the nation’s largest ever immigration enforcement action.
“If I had a burner in front of the front burner, this would be on it,” Menendez said.
Menendez ordered the federal government to submit a supplemental brief responding to accusations that Operation Metro Surge is designed to punish Minnesota for sanctuary policies by 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office called Operation Metro Surge highly illegal, accusing its roving patrols of masked agents of racially profiling people and violently detaining them. It highlighted the killing of two Minneapolis residents by federal agents.
Renee Nicole Macklin Good, 37, was killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7. Alex Pretti, also 37, was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents Jan. 24. Both died while observing immigration agents in south Minneapolis.
“Minnesota should not have to withstand another month, another week or another single day of the unlawful and unchecked invasion and occupation by thousands of federal agents,” Assistant Attorney General Lindsey Middlecamp said.
Menendez questioned Assistant U.S. Attorney Brantley Mayers about the size and goals of Operation Metro Surge and pressed him about a Jan. 24 letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi laying out three calls for policy changes in Minnesota that she said would lead to fewer federal agents on the street.
“Is the executive trying to achieve a goal through force that it can’t achieve through the courts?” Menendez asked.
Bondi’s letter, filed in the court documents, asks the state to turn over records on Medicaid and food stamp data, to repeal all sanctuary policies held by cities and counties in Minnesota to not honor immigration detainers in local jails, and to allow for a federal review of state voter rolls.
“What am I supposed to do with the reality that a substantial amount of the enforcement activity is completely unrelated to — let us into your jails? Meaning that hundreds and hundreds of people who have been arrested have never been in jails,” Menendez asked U.S. attorneys. “So you’re asking me to believe that the surge is not attempting to coerce the plaintiffs into changing their policies?”
Mayers said that those concerns don’t constitute a 10th Amendment violation, and that federal law enforcement has a right to act in any state.
“The goal of the surge is to enforce federal law,” he said.
Mayers said he didn’t have the exact number of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents in Minnesota, but that there are at least 2,000 additional ICE agents and more than 2,000 Border Patrol officers. Menendez ordered him to give her a full number Monday. There are usually 80 ICE agents operating in Minnesota, according to court filings.
“You must have an answer to the question of how many, what the surge is. You all named it. You declared it. Your clients are running it. What is the scope of the surge?” Menendez said.
Menendez noted that a surge operation in the much larger metro area of Chicago had only about 400 additional agents deployed.
“I don’t see how a court could say, ‘This many is the right amount, this amount is too many,’” Mayers said.
Menendez pressed Mayers on the clear goals of the federal operation. Mayers said DHS was seeking cooperation on immigration detainers from all county jails, and the end of city ordinances in Minneapolis, St. Paul and other municipalities that prohibit officers from asking about immigration status. Federal agents are also seeking access to the state’s driver’s license data. Mayers said DHS wants a ban on local governments disallowing federal agents from using their parking lots as staging areas.
“Tell me exactly what the policies are that necessitated the 4,000 extra people,” Menendez said. “Can you tell me how much of the law enforcement response is necessitated by the parking lot issues?”
The state argued that the surge is a clear violation of 10th Amendment rights and that it is impacting the way the state delivers on core services of education, health care and public safety. The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office said the case has implications beyond state lines.
“If this is not stopped right here, right now, I don’t think anybody who is seriously looking at this problem can have much faith in how our republic is going to go in the future,” Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter said.
Menendez pressed Minnesota attorneys on when Operation Metro Surge officially constituted a violation of state rights.
“I don’t know what the line is,” Menendez said. “How do we measure how they’ve crossed the line? Is it the motivation? Is it the scope? Is it the illegality? What helps me decide when this very rarely used doctrine gives me the power to kick ICE out of the state?”
The state is asking Menendez for a temporary restraining order, which Minnesota officials believe will offer longer-term protection as the larger case plays out than a temporary injunction.
“The situation on the street is so dire. We’ve had the National Guard called in; we’ve had another person killed,” Carter said. “Relief is appropriate now, and it should be granted now.”
Any ruling on the proposed order will likely be immediately appealed, Menendez acknowledged.
