Demonstrators clash with ICE in Minneapolis, intensifying protests
Protests intensified in Minneapolis as thousands of people clashed with ICE over enforcement tactics following a fatal shooting.
The Justice Department has asked a federal judge in Minnesota to allow the Trump administration’s immigration operations to continue as tensions rise across the state over tactics used by federal agents.
The Jan. 19 filing was in response to a lawsuit filed last week by the state of Minnesota and the city of the Twin Cities seeking an injunction to stop the deployment of immigration officials, arguing that the intervention violates the state’s constitutional rights. U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez declined to issue an immediate restraining order to expel about 3,000 federal employees from Minnesota.
“An injunction here would unreasonably obstruct federal immigration enforcement,” Trump administration lawyers said in a filing, adding that such relief “effectively gives Minnesota state and local authorities a veto over federal immigration enforcement within Minnesota’s borders.”
The back-and-forth comes after nearly two weeks of protests in the state following the January 7 killing of Renee Nicole Good by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The shooting sparked demonstrations across the United States and deepened the rift between federal and state authorities.
Menendez, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2021, is also overseeing a lawsuit filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists alleging federal agents violated their constitutional rights.
In that case, Menendez ruled that agents are prohibited from using tactics such as pepper spray and arrests against peaceful protesters in Minneapolis. The Justice Department announced on January 19 that it would appeal the injunction.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that the order was “a little ridiculous” and said it “doesn’t change anything on the ground.”
In Minneapolis, skirmishes between protesters and federal agents have increasingly broken out across the city. Protesters interrupted a church service last weekend, claiming one of the church’s pastors was an ICE agent.
The Justice Department has refused to investigate the agent who shot Goode, but has opened an investigation into the protests, citing potential civil rights violations. President Donald Trump, who threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and send the military to Minnesota, on January 20 called for the arrest and possible deportation of protesters.
This story has been updated to add new information.
Christopher Cann is a national breaking news reporter for USA TODAY. Email us at ccann@usatoday.com.
