Judge rules feds in Minneapolis immigration operation can’t detain or
tear gas peaceful protesters
[January 17, 2026]
By AUDREY McAVOY and STEVE KARNOWSKI
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal officers in the Minneapolis-area
participating in its largest recent U.S. immigration enforcement
operation can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren't
obstructing authorities, including when these people are observing the
agents, a judge in Minnesota ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez's ruling addresses a case filed in
December on behalf of six Minnesota activists. The six are among the
thousands who have been observing the activities of Immigration and
Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers enforcing the Trump
administration’s immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
since last month.
Federal agents and demonstrators have repeatedly clashed since the
crackdown began. The confrontations escalated after an immigration agent
fatally shot Renee Good in the head on Jan. 7 as she drove away from a
scene in Minneapolis, an incident that was captured on video from
several angles. Agents have arrested or briefly detained many people in
the Twin Cities.
The activists in the case are represented by the American Civil
Liberties Union of Minnesota, which says government officers are
violating the constitutional rights of Twin Cities residents.
After the ruling, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant
Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement saying her agency was
taking “appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of
law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.”
She said people have assaulted officers, vandalized their vehicles and
federal property, and attempted to impede officers from doing their
work.
“We remind the public that rioting is dangerous — obstructing law
enforcement is a federal crime and assaulting law enforcement is a
felony,” McLaughlin said.
The ACLU didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Friday
night.
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Federal immigration officers stand outside Bishop Henry Whipple
Federal Building as tear gas is deployed Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in
Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
The ruling prohibits the officers from detaining drivers and
passengers in vehicles when there is no reasonable suspicion they
are obstructing or interfering with the officers.
Safely following agents “at an appropriate distance does not, by
itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop,” the
ruling said.
Menendez said the agents would not be allowed to arrest people
without probable cause or reasonable suspicion the person has
committed a crime or was obstructing or interfering with the
activities of officers.
Menendez is also presiding over a lawsuit filed Monday by the state
of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul seeking to
suspend the enforcement crackdown, and some of the legal issues are
similar. She declined at a hearing Wednesday to grant the state’s
request for an immediate temporary restraining order in that case.
“What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature
needs to be lowered,” state Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter
told her.
Menendez said the issues raised by the state and cities in that case
are “enormously important.” But she said it raises high-level
constitutional and other legal issues, and for some of those issues
there are few on-point precedents. So she ordered both sides to file
more briefs next week.
___
McAvoy reported from Honolulu. Associated Press writer Hallie Golden
in Seattle contributed to this report.
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