A federal appeals court just stepped in and did what common sense could not get from a lower court in Minnesota, it removed the legal straightjacket from ICE agents trying to do their jobs in the middle of chaos. On Monday, a three-judge panel from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Trump administration and blocked restrictions that had limited how Immigration and Customs Enforcement could respond to increasingly aggressive anti-ICE agitators in Minneapolis.
The ruling stays, permanently this time, a lower court order that had essentially told federal agents to stand there and take it. That earlier decision barred ICE from arresting, detaining, pepper-spraying, or otherwise responding to protesters without probable cause, even as confrontations escalated around Operation Metro Surge. In other words, federal law enforcement was expected to politely ask rioters to stop while being surrounded, harassed, and obstructed.
The appeals court was not impressed. After reviewing the same videos relied upon by the district court, the panel noted that while some protesters were peaceful, “much of it” was not. The footage showed a wide range of disruptive and hostile behavior, along with federal agents responding in various ways to carry out their duties. That is judge-speak for saying the lower court badly misread reality.
The lawsuit itself was brought on behalf of six protesters who claimed ICE violated their civil rights during clashes in Minneapolis. Their arguments found a friendly ear with U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez, who issued a preliminary injunction against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE back on January 16. She argued the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on First and Fourth Amendment claims, citing alleged pepper spray use, weapons being pointed, arrests, and traffic stops involving people she described as peaceful observers.
The appeals court sharply disagreed with that framing, and so did Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bondi celebrated the ruling as a “FULL STAY,” blasting what she called a reckless attempt by liberal judges to handcuff federal law enforcement and endanger their safety. She was not wrong. Telling agents they cannot respond to real-time threats while mobs surround them is not civil rights protection, it is negligence dressed up as jurisprudence.
This decision clears the way for ICE to continue enforcement operations in Minnesota without the added constraints dreamed up by the lower court. It is a significant win for President Trump’s immigration agenda at a moment when protests have become louder, more aggressive, and more openly hostile to federal authority.
The case itself will continue winding through the courts, but for now, ICE agents are no longer being told to fight with one hand tied behind their backs. That alone should make Minneapolis a little safer, whether the activist class likes it or not.
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