Minneapolis — The state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are suing the federal government to stop increased enforcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the wake of the killing of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE officer.
The state and cities filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday, along with a request for a temporary restraining order to halt enforcement proceedings or limit the process.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has sent more than 2,000 immigration officers to Minnesota and has made more than 2,000 arrests in the city since the crackdown began last month. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has described the Minnesota operation as the largest enforcement operation ever.
The lawsuit claims Operation Metro Surge violates federal law because it is arbitrary and capricious, because it says other states are not seeing proportionate crackdowns. While the Trump administration says it’s about fighting fraud, the lawsuit says ICE agents have no experience fighting fraud in government programs.
The lawsuit says the federal government is actually targeting Minnesota over the policy, which it says is a violation of the First Amendment.
Also, federal officers on Monday fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of whistle-blowing bystanders in Minneapolis who had come to see the aftermath of a car crash involving immigration agents, just blocks away from last week’s deadly shooting.
A crowd showed up to witness a man being questioned by agents who rear-ended his car. The agents used tear gas to try to disperse the group, then drove off while people shouted “cowards!”
It was another tense scene after the death of Renee Judd on Jan. 7 and a weekend that saw more immigration enforcement sweeps in the Minneapolis area. There were dozens of protests or vigils across the United States to honor Jed and passionately criticize the Trump administration’s tactics.
Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen, visited a memorial for Judd, 37, on the street where she was shot in the head and killed while driving her SUV.
Trump administration officials have repeatedly defended the immigration agent who shot her, saying Judd and her car posed a threat. But this interpretation has been widely criticized by Walz and others based on videos of the confrontation.
Christian Molina, a U.S. citizen who lives in Coon Rapids, said he was driving to a mechanic on Monday when agents in another car followed him, even sounding the siren.
Molina said his car’s rear bumper was hit as he turned the corner. He refused to show the agents’ identities, saying he would wait for the local police.
“I’m glad they didn’t shoot me or something,” Molina told reporters.
Standing near the worn-out barrier, he wondered aloud: “Who’s going to pay for my car?”
Meanwhile, in Portland, Oregon, federal authorities filed charges against a Venezuelan national who was one of two people shot by US Border Patrol there on Thursday. The US Department of Justice said the man used his pickup truck to ram a Border Patrol vehicle and fled the scene with a woman.
They were shot and eventually arrested. Their injuries were not life-threatening. The FBI said there was no video of the incident, unlike Jade’s shooting.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.