Appeals court reverses temporary ban on immigration agents retaliating against protesters and observers

Elliot Hughes, Star Tribune on Jan 21, 2026

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An appeals court has paused a temporary order blocking immigration agents from retaliating against peaceful protesters.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit sided with the federal government in a terse decision Wednesday that did not explain its reasoning.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez issued a temporary injunction limiting the force federal law enforcement officers could use against demonstrators and observers relating to Operation Metro Surge, the name given to the immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota.

Menendez blocked federal agents from retaliating, arresting, detaining and using force against peaceful protesters and observers while a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Minnesota remained pending. Her order also specifically stated that drivers who safely follow federal agents at appropriate distances do not create reasonable suspicion to justify a stop.

The order came after the ACLU of Minnesota filed a lawsuit Dec. 17 on behalf of five residents who claim federal authorities violated their constitutional rights while they were observing Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions.

In an emergency appeal filed Tuesday, lawyers for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security argued that Menendez’s injunction unfairly limited the government’s efforts to enforce immigration laws “based on a handful of contested allegations of wrongdoing by federal officers.”

The government’s attorneys argued the injunction harms “officers’ ability to protect themselves and the public in very dangerous circumstances.”

“Since the onset of Operation Metro Surge,” the government’s filing said, “ICE officers have been confronted with increased threats and violent attacks; vehicle block-ins, vandalism, and crashes; and obstruction of immigration-enforcement operations.”

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