Federal judge Kate Menendez denied Minnesota’s motion for a temporary restraining order to halt “Operation Metro Surge” on Saturday. The court documents, filed on Saturday, say that Minnesota and its cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have not met their burden of proof.
The argument to halt operations, in part, stated that the federal operation is “causing harm to the Twin Cities and State themselves, as well as their residents.” Lawyers with the U.S. Department of Justice have called the lawsuit “legally frivolous.”
In the court documents, Menendez cited another recent case where the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently vacated the preliminary injunction ruling that restricted the force federal agents can use on peaceful protesters, saying that court case had “much more settled precedent” in that case and that “the Court of Appeals determined that the injunction would cause irreparable harm to the government because it would hamper their efforts to enforce federal law.” Menendez also wrote, “If that injunction went too far, then halting the entire operation certainly would.”
“Because there is evidence supporting both sides’ arguments as to motivation and the relative merits of each side’s competing positions are unclear, the Court is reluctant to find that the likelihood-of-success factor weighs sufficiently in favor of granting a preliminary injunction,” the judge said in the ruling.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey released a statement after Menendez’s ruling that stated in part:
“Of course, we’re disappointed. This decision doesn’t change what people here have lived through — fear, disruption, and harm caused by a federal operation that never belonged in Minneapolis in the first place. This operation has not brought public safety. It’s brought the opposite and has detracted from the order we need for a working city. It’s an invasion, and it needs to stop.”
The state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have sought a temporary restraining order in their lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other Trump administration officials.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi took to social media Saturday to laud the ruling, calling it “another HUGE” legal win for the Justice Department on X.
Minnesota’s argument
The state filed the lawsuit claiming the Trump administration has “violated the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” through infringement of police power and unlawful coercion. Minnesota alleges it “has been singled out and targeted by ICE in a way that no other state has experienced.”
In the court filing, Minnesota argues that the operation is not motivated by “a legitimate law-enforcement purpose” but rather serves as a “pretext for leveraging demands and punishing political leaders within the State and Twin Cities who oppose the Trump administration’s immigration policies.”
The state also claims that one of the Trump administration’s true objectives is gaining access to Minnesota’s voter rolls.
Court documents also state that the large-scale presence of federal agents has disrupted the healthcare industry, affected local businesses and stopped residents from going to religious services. The state also claims that “federal officers’ use of force and being detained on their way to and from school had had ‘negative impacts on attendance and student focus'” forcing several school districts to temporarily close.
Trump administration’s argument
The Trump administration argues Operation Metro Surge was launched “to address the dangers arising from the presence of illegal aliens in the Twin Cities.” The administration also argues the dangers are exacerbated by Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul’s sanctuary city policies.
The Department of Justice filed a 34-page lawsuit in 2025 alleging “Minnesota officials are jeopardizing the safety of their own citizens by allowing illegal aliens to circumvent the legal process.”
The Trump administration also claims that Operation Metro Surge has “strictly been in furtherance of “the enforcement of federal law,” in line with President Trump’s campaign promises.”
Operation Metro Surge is the largest federal deployment of law enforcement in United States history.
