A federal appeals court has granted a full stay of an injunction that would have severely restricted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ ability to address anti-ICE protesters in Minnesota, ruling the earlier decision was overly broad and unenforceable.
U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez, nominated by former President Joe Biden, issued a preliminary injunction on January 16 prohibiting federal agents from arresting, retaliating against, or using nonlethal crowd control tools such as pepper spray against individuals who record, observe, or protest against Operation Metro Surge and related operations in Minnesota.
The ACLU of Minnesota and three Minnesota-based law firms filed the lawsuit on December 17, alleging ICE violated the First and Fourth Amendment rights of several activists, including a Minnesota woman and a Somali-American man, by accusing them of attacking federal agents. The injunction also barred ICE from detaining drivers and passengers without reasonable suspicion that they were obstructing or interfering with covered federal agents.
The ACLU welcomed the ruling but later admitted it was premature as the Department of Homeland Security appealed to the Eighth Circuit. Last week, the Eighth Circuit panel—comprising two judges nominated by former President George W. Bush and one judge appointed by President Donald Trump—granted the government’s motion for a full stay. The court stated the injunction was “unlikely to survive” because it created an uncertified class of protesters and lacked specificity.
The court reviewed video evidence previously viewed by the district court, noting that protesters engaged in a range of conduct, including peaceful acts but also obstructive behavior such as blocking officers’ vehicles and getting into their faces. The injunction’s vagueness would make it difficult for agents to determine when actions crossed from peaceful protest to obstruction.
Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the ruling as “a win against judicial activism in Minnesota,” stating liberal judges had sought to “handcuff our federal law enforcement officers.” Deepinder Mayell, executive director of the ACLU of Minnesota, expressed disappointment but affirmed Minnesotans’ right to safely protest immigration agents without fear.
