US court denies request to suspend immigration operations in Minnesota

Several American cities have protests against ICE A United States federal court rejected, this Saturday (31), a request to suspend the operations of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (the “ICE”) in the state of Minnesota. With the decision, federal agent operations against immigrants remain in force until the case is definitively judged. The information is from the Deutsche Welle agency. The lawsuit was filed jointly by the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Local authorities allege that the “Metro Surge” operation underway in the region violates state sovereignty and constitutes discrimination on the part of the federal government. The actions, carried out by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (in English: ‘Immigration and Customs Enforcement’), have already caused the deaths of two American citizens in the state. Protesters carry signs condemning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) near the location where a man identified as Alex Pretti was shot to death by federal agents trying to detain him, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, on January 24, 2026. REUTERS/Tim Evans The lawsuit highlights two recent fatal incidents: In early January (07), American Renée Good was shot to death by a federal agent when she refused to get out of her car; Last week (24), fellow American Alex Pretti died during another operation in Minneapolis — he was protesting against Renée’s death. Judge Katherine Menendez, responsible for the case, concluded that the balance of damages does not favor the granting of an immediate injunction. She highlighted, however, that the court has not yet made a final judgment on the merits of the allegations nor on the legality of the agents’ tactics. Court orders release of 5-year-old child amid weekend of protests In a parallel development, a federal judge ordered the immediate release of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias. Both are asylum seekers, entered the country legally, and were being held in a facility in Texas after being approached during the immigration offensive in Minnesota. Father and son were arrested on January 20, outside their home, as the boy returned from school. The images of the boy being used as “bait” went viral. In the decision, Judge Fred Biery harshly criticized the government’s conduct. He described the case as the result of an “ill-conceived and incompetently executed” pursuit of deportation quotas, even though it results in the traumatization of children. The order determines that father and son be released until next Tuesday (03). This same weekend, the United States was taken over by a wave of protests. Images like those of Liam, Renée, Pretti and others should mobilize hundreds of events spread across the country.

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