A federal judge in Minnesota issued an order Friday to rein in federal immigration agents’ tactics against protesters during the Trump administration’s surge in deportation efforts there.
The emergency intervention by U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez temporarily bars federal officers involved in “Operation Metro Surge” from arresting, using chemical irritants on or otherwise retaliating against peaceful protesters.It also prohibits federal law enforcement officials from stopping or detaining drivers without “reasonable articulable suspicion that they are forcibly obstructing or interfering” with their work, stating that safely following agents does not constitute reasonable suspicion.
In the wake of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent’s fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, the plaintiffs urged Menendez to issue a broad ruling to stop alleged retaliation against protesters.