Judge Weighs Minnesota’s Request to Block Federal Immigration Enforcement Surge

The judge ended the hearing in recess without ruling from the bench, citing the high importance of the case.

Federal agents fire flash-bang grenades as they advance toward protesters during clashes following the fatal shooting of a man by federal immigration agents earlier in the day in Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026. Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

A federal judge heard arguments on Jan. 26 from the state of Minnesota calling for an emergency block to the Trump administration’s deployment of thousands of federal immigration agents to the Twin Cities over the past two months.

The plaintiffs claim that the federal government’s immigration agent buildup, “Operation Metro Surge,” breaches Minnesota’s state sovereignty and violates the 10th Amendment, which grants authority to the states that the Constitution does not explicitly delegate to the federal government.