Trump administration asks judge to reject Minnesota’s bid to stop immigration crackdown

By Hanna Park, Matthew Rehbein, Zoe Sottile, CNN

(CNN) — The Department of Justice asked a federal judge Monday to reject a bid by Minnesota leaders to block President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and to allow the surge of immigration agents in the state to move forward, after a lawsuit was brought by Minnesota and the Twin Cities claiming the move was unconstitutional.

“Minnesota wants a veto over federal law enforcement,” the new filing by the Trump administration said, describing the lawsuit brought by state and local officials as an “absurdity” that “would render the supremacy of federal law an afterthought to local preferences.”

Officials in Minnesota filed the lawsuit last week in an effort to curb the administration’s ongoing crackdown in their state, equating the surge of federal immigration agents to the state to “a federal invasion” and citing violations of the 10th Amendment. The suit was filed shortly after Illinois and the city of Chicago also sued the Trump administration, alleging the Department of Homeland Security has terrorized residents in “organized bombardment.”

Trump and his administration have said the Constitution gives the federal government broad authority to enforce national immigration laws as the government sees fit.

The administration also said Monday it is appealing a separate federal judge’s order restricting how federal agents respond to peaceful Minnesota protesters, as demonstrations continue to flare in the Twin Cities. On Sunday, demonstrators targeted a Christian church in St. Paul where one of the pastors appears to be a top official with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in the city. The church service was forced to stop, and hours later an investigation was announced by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who said the protesters were “desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.”

Early Tuesday, Trump labeled the church protesters “agitators and insurrectionists” who are “highly trained to scream, rant, and rave,” according to a post on his Truth Social platform. “They are troublemakers who should be thrown in jail, or thrown out of the Country,” the president went on to say.

Here’s the latest:

• DOJ urges judge to let ICE surge continue: Lawyers for Minnesota and the Twin Cities have until Thursday to file their response to Monday’s filing from the DOJ. Judge Katherine Menendez has said she will consider Minnesota’s request to block the immigration operation “on an expedited basis.” Menendez held a hearing on the lawsuit last Wednesday and decided not to issue a temporary restraining order, but said her decision “should not be considered a prejudgment.” The lawsuit presents “somewhat frontier issues in constitutional law,” she said.
• DOJ investigating church protest: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News on Monday that the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has sent experts to Minneapolis. The US Attorney’s office, the FBI and DHS are all involved in the investigation, he said. Officials have suggested Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor who now makes content independently and was present at the church protest, could face charges, though Lemon told CNN he was at the event as a journalist.
• DOJ appeals ruling: The DOJ is appealing a judge’s order curtailing how federal agents respond to Minnesota protests. The order, issued Friday, prohibits agents from arresting or detaining peaceful protesters, using certain crowd-control measures like pepper spray against them, and stopping and detaining drivers when there is “no reasonable articulable suspicion” they are forcibly obstructing or interfering with federal operations. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the order “a little ridiculous,” saying agents only use chemical irritants “when there’s violence happening.”
• FBI probe into Renee Good’s killing: The FBI briefly opened a civil rights probe into the ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis before shifting to whether the agent was assaulted, two sources told CNN. The focus is now on the conduct of Good and those around her, including her widow, they said. The family’s attorney says an investigation is needed to find out what happened.
• Troops on standby: The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers to prepare for possible deployment to Minnesota, according to a Trump administration source. Having troops on standby does not mean a deployment will happen, the source said. The Minnesota National Guard has also been mobilized but not deployed, state officials announced last weekend. Gov. Tim Walz first ordered the Guard to be ready to support Minneapolis law enforcement the day after Good was killed.
• Protests in Minnesota: Demonstrators continued to rally against ICE near the Whipple Federal Building outside Minneapolis Monday, amid frigid temperatures.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.