An appeals court has temporarily lifted restrictions from a federal judge in Minnesota that blocked ICE agents from pepper-spraying and arresting peaceful protesters.
In a victory for the Trump administration, the eighth US circuit court of appeals on Wednesday granted the justice department’s request for an administrative stay of a preliminary injunction issued last Friday by Judge Katherine Menendez.
Menendez’s preliminary injunction would have prohibited ICE agents from retaliating against peaceful protesters, arresting or detaining people who are participating in peaceful protests, using pepper spray or similar non-lethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools, as well as stopping or detaining drivers without reasonable cause.
When Menendez imposed the restrictions, she ruled that federal immigration agents’ actions had a “chilling effect” on protesters’ first amendment rights.
Following Menendez’s preliminary injunction last week, the homeland security department defended ICE’s tactics. Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said: “DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.”
The latest decision from the eighth circuit court of appeals comes as Vice-President JD Vance is set to visit Minneapolis on Thursday. According to the White House, Vance will “hold a roundtable with local leaders and community members and will deliver remarks focused on restoring law and order in Minneapolis”.
ICE activity in Minnesota has drawn mounting criticism in recent weeks, intensified by the killing of Renee Good, a 37-year-old woman and mother of three, by a federal agent. Her death has prompted large-scale protests statewide and across the country. In response, DHS has stood by ICE’s actions, maintaining that agents operated within the law and used force only in self-defense when they perceived threats.
State leaders, however, reject that characterization. Tim Walz, the state governor, and local officials have condemned the deployment of thousands of federal agents as an unconstitutional and destructive “federal invasion”, describing it as a retaliatory campaign that has spread fear, undermined civil liberties and violated the rights of Minnesota residents.
In response, the justice department has subpoenaed several prominent Minnesota Democrats, including Walz and Jacob Frey, the Minneapolis mayor, whom the department accuses of conspiring to impede ICE operations.
