MINNEAPOLIS -- A judge decided not to issue a temporary restraining order after Minnesota and the Twin Cities sued federal officials, claiming their immigration enforcement operation involves warrantless arrests and excessive force.

The lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and its reporting agencies says federal agents are violating the 10th Amendment. Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the state of Minnesota asked for a temporary restraining order to stop the federal operation while the case proceeds.

But US District Judge Katherine Menendez said her decision not to issue a TRO “should not be considered a prejudgment” at a status conference Wednesday morning.

Tensions reached a fever pitch in Minnesota after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent killed Renee Good – a US citizen and mother of three. Her death last week sparked protests in the Minneapolis area, and the Trump administration has sent thousands of personnel to the region.

“Nearly 3,000 armed, heavily masked agents” have been deployed, with some carrying out “unlawful, violent conduct,” Brian Carter of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office said during the hearing.

Department of Justice attorney Andrew Warden did not explicitly contest Carter’s specific claims. But he noted the federal government has had “very limited time” to dig into Minnesota’s 80-page lawsuit since it was filed Monday.

Menendez said the issues raised by the plaintiffs are “enormously important” – but there’s not much legal precedence for the case.

The lawsuit presents “somewhat frontier issues in constitutional law,” the judge said.

She gave the federal government a deadline of next Monday to respond to Minnesota’s request for an injunction. Minnesota will then have three days to respond to the defendants.

Here’s what else is happening as tensions brew between state and federal officials:

• New claims: Federal agents have carried out more wrongful activity since Minnesota and the Twin Cities filed the lawsuit Monday, the attorney for the state said during Wednesday’s hearing. A person who was following ICE agents, which Carter said is not an illegal activity, was stopped, placed in a chokehold and forced to the ground, the attorney said. He also said federal agents left a grenade – with the pin still inside – in a residential neighborhood. The DOJ attorney representing the federal government did not directly address these claims during the hearing Wednesday. But Warden said the government will approach the case with high-level legal arguments.
• Prosecutors resign: Six senior career prosecutors stepped down after they reportedly objected to pressure from the White House to shift the investigation into Good’s shooting away from the agent’s use of force and toward Good, her widow, and others connected to immigration protests. Joseph Thompson, who frequently handled investigations with political implications including one into social services fraud, was among those who resigned.Read more about who some of the other prosecutors were here.
• No civil rights investigation: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department does not believe there is evidence to back a criminal civil rights investigation into the actions of the ICE agent who shot Good. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara criticized the move. An FBI investigation of the shooting is ongoing, though local authorities have been blocked from joining the probe.
• More federal agents: US Customs and Border Protection Commander Gregory Bovino said “hundreds and hundreds” of additional federal agents are being deployed to Minneapolis. The agents started deploying Friday and continued over the weekend, according to two federal law enforcement sources. This comes on top of the deployment of about 2,000 agents to the area that CNN reportedearlier.
• White House reaction: Trump on Tuesday defended ICE agents operating in Minnesota, calling them “patriots” and warning online that a “day of reckoning and retribution is coming,” as the administration sends more federal agents to Minneapolis.
• Federal funding: During a speech Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced the federal government will not make “any payments” to sanctuary cities or states with sanctuary cities starting February 1. A judge blocked the administration from denying funding to over 30 cities last year for policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
• Civil investigation into deadly ICE shooting: A group of lawyers from the firm Romanucci and Blandin will conduct a civil probe into the fatal ICE shooting of Good “with an understanding that transparency is essential in this case of national importance,” the legal team said in a statement. Information and facts uncovered during the investigation will be shared “on a rolling basis” to the American public to ensure accountability, the statement said.
• New statement from Renee Good’s family: The mother of three was remembered for her “abundant heart” as her family thanked members of the public for their support. “She was our protector, our shoulder to cry on, and our scintillating source of joy,” her family said in a statement released by Romanucci and Blandin, the law firm representing them. “We all already miss her more than words could ever express.”
• Protests: Federal officers clashed with protesters Tuesday a few blocks away from where Good was killed. Agents smashed one woman’s car window and pulled her out of the vehicle, video showed. In the Powderhorn neighborhood in Minneapolis, federal agents dispersed pepper balls and flash bangs amid the protests. Outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, protesters chanted, waved signs and flags, and confronted federal agents parked at the gate, at times stepping into the street to try to block vehicles they believed were carrying ICE officers.
• Somali community targeted: The Trump administration sharpened it’s focus on Minneapolis after allegations of widespread fraud at Somali-run child care centers in the area were raised in a video posted by a conservative YouTuber last month, with little evidence. On Tuesday, DHS said it will terminate humanitarian relief for Somali nationals living in the US, arguing conditions in Somalia no longer justify those protections. The termination of the relief, known as Temporary Protected Status, drew swift backlash from Minnesota leaders, who said they were not consulted and warn the decision, combined with the president’s escalating rhetoric and stepped?up enforcement is fueling fear in the Somali community and could affect people with legal status and no criminal records.

This story has been updated with additional information.

The-CNN-Wire
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