❓WHAT HAPPENED: A federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minnesota.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Donald J. Trump, U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Menendez, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D).
📍WHEN & WHERE: The ruling was issued late Wednesday, with President Trump praising the decision early Thursday morning.
💬KEY QUOTE: “A highly respected judge declined to block I.C.E. operations in the very politically corrupt State of Minnesota. I.C.E. will therefore be allowed to continue its highly successful operation of removing some of the most violent and vicious criminals anywhere in the World, many of them murderers, from the State.” – Donald Trump.
🎯IMPACT: ICE operations in Minnesota will continue, with Trump praising law enforcement efforts to ensure public safety.
President Donald J. Trump on Thursday praised U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Menendez’s decision not to issue an immediate temporary restraining order (TRO) against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minnesota. On Monday, Democrat Governor Tim Walz’s administration filed a lawsuit against President Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seeking to halt its immigration enforcement actions in the state and requesting an emergency TRO as litigation proceeds.
“A highly respected judge declined to block I.C.E. operations in the very politically corrupt State of Minnesota. I.C.E. will therefore be allowed to continue its highly successful operation of removing some of the most violent and vicious criminals anywhere in the World, many of them murderers, from the State,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding: “The great patriots of Law Enforcement will continue to make our Country safe. RECORD LOW CRIME NUMBERS!!!”
Judge Menendez—a Joe Biden appointee—stated that she was disinclined to issue the TRO before first hearing the Trump administration’s response to the lawsuit. However, she stressed her decision to decline the request “should not be taken as a prejudgment of the merits of either the plaintiff’s case or the anticipated defense that may be raised by the United States.”
“It is simply observing that these are grave and important matters and that they are somewhat frontier issues in constitutional law,” the judge added. Menendez requested that the Trump administration respond to Minnesota’s lawsuit by January 19 and that Gov. Walz file a reply by January 22.
Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.