Judge restricts immigration agents’ conduct toward Minnesota protesters

A federal judge in Minnesota on Friday issued a preliminary injunction limiting how immigration agents may act toward protesters in the state, ordering them not to retaliate against people “engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity” and not to stop drivers who are not “forcibly obstructing or interfering with” officers.

The order by Judge Kate M. Menendez also barred agents from using pepper spray or other “crowd dispersal tools” in retaliation for protected speech. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by activists who said agents had violated their rights; that suit was filed before an immigration agent shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis on Jan.

7. The judge noted in her order that “the court’s injunction does nothing to prevent defendants from continuing to enforce immigration laws.” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, responded that “D.H.S. is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters,” saying agents had faced assaults, fireworks and slashed tires and had used what she called the minimum amount of force necessary.

She did not say whether the department planned to appeal the ruling. Tensions in Minnesota have risen since late 2025, when the federal government began an immigration enforcement campaign called Operation Metro Surge, and after the recent shootings that left one person dead and another injured.

Key Topics

Politics, Kate Menendez, Dhs, Operation Metro Surge, Renee Good, Minneapolis