Federal Judge Sets Limits on Immigration Enforcement in Minneapolis After Tensions After Fatal Shooting of Renee Good
Federal officers in the Minneapolis area participating in the region’s largest recent U.S. immigration enforcement operation cannot detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who are not obstructing authorities, including people who are observing agents from a safe distance, a Minnesota judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez’s ruling addresses a case filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists. The six are among thousands who have been observing the activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers enforcing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area since last month.
Federal agents and demonstrators have repeatedly clashed since the crackdown began. Tensions escalated after an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head on Jan. 7 as she drove away from a scene in Minneapolis. The incident was captured on video from several angles. Agents have arrested or briefly detained numerous people in the Twin Cities during the operation.
The activists are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, which argues that government officers are violating the constitutional rights of Twin Cities residents.
After the ruling, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the agency is taking “appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.”
McLaughlin said some individuals have assaulted officers, vandalized vehicles and federal property, and attempted to impede officers from carrying out their duties.
“We remind the public that rioting is dangerous — obstructing law enforcement is a federal crime and assaulting law enforcement is a felony,” she said.
The ACLU did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday night.
Menendez’s ruling prohibits officers from detaining drivers and passengers in vehicles when there is no reasonable suspicion that they are obstructing or interfering with officers. The decision states that safely following agents “at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop.”
The judge also said agents cannot arrest individuals without probable cause or reasonable suspicion that a person has committed a crime or is obstructing or interfering with enforcement activities.
Menendez is also presiding over a separate lawsuit filed Monday by the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul seeking to suspend the enforcement crackdown. Some of the legal issues in that case overlap with the activists’ lawsuit. She declined at a hearing Wednesday to grant the state’s request for an immediate temporary restraining order.
“What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature needs to be lowered,” state Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter told the judge.
Menendez said the issues raised by the state and the cities are “enormously important,” but involve high-level constitutional and legal questions with few clear precedents. She ordered both sides to file additional briefs next week.
