Minnesota bid to thwart ICE crackdown blocked

MINNEAPOLIS/LOS ANGELES, United States — A US judge delivered a blow Saturday to Minnesota's bid to force Immigration and Customs Enforcement to suspend its sweeping detention and deportation operation in the state that has left two US citizens dead and fueled massive protests across the country.

But while the federal court denied the state's bid to immediately halt the operation, a judge in a separate case delivered a stinging rebuke of the government and ordered authorities to release a five-year-old Minnesota boy and his father who were detained during the immigration crackdown.

"The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children," US District Judge Fred Biery wrote.

Masked and heavily armed federal agents have swept through Minnesota communities seeking undocumented migrants, detaining thousands and shooting dead two US citizens in the process.

Multiple demonstrations were held on Saturday across Southern California against ICE raids.

The protests, organized by "50501 movement", a grassroots political organization, were part of the "ICE Out of Everywhere" national day of action, aiming to show solidarity with Minnesota and for those who have died as a result of federal agents' aggressive tactics.

Tens of thousands marched in Minnesota the previous day against the heavy-handed campaign championed by the current administration, which has sparked outrage across the US, with the operation dubbed Metro Surge.

On Minnesota's bid to obtain a temporary restraining order to end the federal operation, judge Katherine Menendez wrote in a ruling that "ultimately, the Court finds that the balance of harms does not decisively favor an injunction".

Minnesota argues that the monthlong federal operation violated its sovereignty as a state.

Menendez said she was not making a final judgment on the state's overall case in her decision, something that would follow arguments in court.

Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators gathered on Saturday in Milan, Italy, to protest the deployment of US ICE agents during the upcoming Winter Olympics.

"No thank you, from Minnesota to the world, at the side of anyone who fights for human rights," read one banner. "Never again means never again for anyone," read another.

News of the deployment has provoked a backlash in Italy. Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala has said they were not welcome.

Violence reported

ICE, formed in 2003 through the merger of several agencies, including the former Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, is now the largest law enforcement and customs body under the Department of Homeland Security.

According to German newspaper Tagesspiegel, ICE officers have used firearms in 31 incidents since last summer, and at least 32 people were killed in custody. About 70,000 individuals are being held in ICE detention facilities.

ICE represents only the tip of the iceberg of law enforcement violence in the US. Research by the University of Illinois Chicago shows that around 250,000 people are injured each year during law enforcement encounters due to misconduct, while more than 600 die at the hands of police officers.

Data from the US-based "Mapping Police Violence" project show that in 2025 alone, US police killed 1,314 people, with only six days throughout the year recording no police-related fatalities.

"Violence reigns on the streets of the USA, state violence," Tagesspiegel reported. A commentary in The Atlantic argued that US law enforcement culture has broken down, with brutality and dehumanization deeply entrenched in many police departments.

Agencies - Xinhua