A federal judge has barred federal immigration agents in Minnesota from arresting, detaining, retaliating against, or using force and chemical irritants against peaceful protesters and observers.
This injunction restricts the use of force by federal law enforcement officers against demonstrators and observers while a lawsuit, filed by the ACLU of Minnesota on December 17, is pending.
In the decision made on January 16, U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez prohibited federal agents from:
- Retaliating against individuals protesting or observing the activities of Operation Metro Surge, the immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota.
- Arresting or detaining individuals without probable cause that they committed a crime or obstructed the agents.
- Using pepper spray and other munitions or crowd dispersal tools against those who are peacefully protesting or observing.
- Stopping or detaining drivers and passengers in vehicles unless there is reasonable and articulable suspicion they are “forcibly obstructing or interfering” with federal agents.
Judge Menendez’s order clarifies that drivers who follow federal agents at a safe distance do not create reasonable suspicion to justify a stop.
The injunction specifically protects “persons who are engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity, including observing the activities of Operation Metro Surge.”
Menendez concluded that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents likely violated the First Amendment rights of protesters by using chemical irritants. Additionally, they likely infringed upon the Fourth Amendment rights of observers who were following agents in vehicles by stopping them without reasonable and articulable suspicion of criminal activity.
Menendez ordered the federal government to inform all agents involved in Operation Metro Surge within 72 hours. This order will remain in effect until the operation concludes.
The ACLU of Minnesota expressed relief over the court’s issuance of a preliminary injunction, stating they hope it will prevent further First Amendment violations affecting Minnesotans since the start of “Operation Metro Surge.”
