HAPPENING NOW: Minnesota v. Noem hearing is underway before Judge Menendez, who will weigh whether to order an end to Operation Metro Surge. AG Keith Ellison is at counsel table for the state.
Lawyer for the state, Lindsey Middlecamp, begins by demanding immediate end to "unlawful and unchecked invasion" by federal agents. She cites the Alex Pretti killing and says things are escalating, not improving.
Middlecamp says AG Bondi's letter to the state amounted to a "ransom note" and that messages from her and President Trump amounted to an unconstitutional attempt to coerce the state to change its policies.
Middlecamp casts Operation Metro Surge as violent by design, relying on displays of force and aggressive racial profiling that have terrified local residents and led to unnecessary confrontations.
Middlecamp says local businesses who have spoken out have faced "retaliatory" audits and some observers/protesters had Global Entry status revoked.
Hearing is turning heavily on AG Bondi's letter, which the state describes as an overt extortion attempt / "shakedown." That clear coercion, the plaintiffs say, is a violation of the 10th amendment and anti-commandeering law (harkening back to Obamacare rulings).
MENENDEZ says she's struggling to determine how to draw the line between legitimate efforts by the federal government to pressure states and illegal coercion. "What helps me decide when this very rarely used doctrine gives me the power to kick ICE out of the state?" she wonders.
MN argues that Trump admin is using Operation Metro Surge to leverage policy changes.
"They are not letting the courts work this stuff out. What they’re trying to get in court ... they’re trying to get that same thing by putting 3,000 heavily armed agents on the streets of Minnesota."
It seems clear that if Minnesota wins this fight, it will be because AG Bondi's letter explicitly linked the federal surge to the administration's desired policy goals.
For example, Bondi's first demand to end the ICE surge is "give us your SNAP data." The state says it's pretty clear you can't use presence of armed agents to coerce things like this. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Layer for MN: "The president of the United States said in the middle of this chaos and violence in the streets … he said 'Minnesota, your day of retribution is here.' That is crazy. How can that not violate legal sovereignty?"
UPDATE: Yet another ruling declaring an ICE detention in Minnesota illegal, this time a man who was dragged from his car by plainclothes ICE agents last week. It lands as Juge Menendez is weighing legality of Operation Metro Surge altogether. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
MORE: Judge Menendez really hammering on AG Bondi's letter, which seems to suggest feds will dial down their presence if state bends to their policy goals.
"Is the executive trying to achieve a goal through force that it can’t achieve through the courts?" she asks DOJ.
UPDATE: Judge Tunheim in Minnesota blasts DOJ for racing to move an immigration detainee to Texas despite his order to keep the person in MN. This has become a repeat issue – ICE racing to move detainees out of state, which affects legal rights.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
NEW: Trump's vow of "retribution" against Minnesota and AG Bondi's letter of policy demands fueled a federal judge's skepticism Monday about the lawfulness of Operation Metro Surge — but her ruling is far from certain.
w/ @joshgerstein
politico.com/news/2026/01/2…
@joshgerstein Judge Menendez expressed deep skepticism about her power to broadly order the end of Operation Metro Surge and how to police the line between appropriate law enforcement and an unconstitutional attack on state sovereignty.
politico.com/news/2026/01/2…
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