Washington DC [US], February 1 : Protests against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown spread across the United States on Saturday, as a federal judge declined to immediately halt Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, according to CNN.
CNN reported that massive crowds of demonstrators marched from coast to coast for a second consecutive day, calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to leave their cities.
The protests coincided with a legal setback for Minnesota, after a judge allowed the federal immigration operation, which has seen thousands of agents deployed to the Twin Cities, to continue, despite claims of excessive force and two deaths linked to federal agents.
As protests intensified, President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he had instructed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem not to intervene in protests or unrest in Democratic-led cities "under no circumstances," unless assistance was formally requested by local officials.
According to CNN, Minnesota, along with the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, sued federal officials earlier this month, calling Operation Metro Surge a "federal invasion" involving warrantless arrests and excessive force. The operation, reportedly targeting undocumented Somali immigrants, has fueled weeks of tension between local and federal authorities and sparked confrontations in Minneapolis streets.
The Trump administration argued in court that the lawsuit was an overreach. "Put simply, Minnesota wants a veto over federal law enforcement," the administration said in a filing cited by CNN.
In a ruling issued Saturday, U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez allowed the operation to continue while the lawsuit proceeds. While acknowledging evidence that federal agents had "engaged in racial profiling, excessive use of force, and other harmful actions," the judge said the harms of halting the entire operation had to be weighed against the federal government's responsibility to enforce immigration law.
Menendez said Minnesota officials were unlikely to succeed in their claim that the administration violated the 10th Amendment, and noted that a narrower injunction barring arrests of peaceful protesters or certain crowd-control tactics had already been vacated.
"If that injunction went too far, then the one at issue here -- halting the entire operation -- certainly would," the judge wrote, according to CNN.
The Department of Homeland Security welcomed the ruling, calling it "a win for public safety and law and order."
Minnesota officials expressed disappointment. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the decision did not change what residents had experienced -- "fear, disruption, and harm caused by a federal operation that never belonged in Minneapolis in the first place." He said the city would continue pursuing the lawsuit.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison echoed the sentiment, saying the case was still in its early stages and that the state would continue to use "creative legal strategies" to protect residents.
Meanwhile, CNN reported that large crowds continued to march peacefully in downtown Minneapolis. Bikers joined a memorial ride for Alex Pretti, the second person killed by federal agents in the city this month. The ride was one of more than 200 memorial events across 43 states held this weekend in memory of Pretti and others killed by federal agents.
The deaths of Pretti and Renee Good have intensified the national debate on immigration enforcement and appear to have shifted the tone of the White House's response, CNN noted.
Peaceful protests were also reported across Southern California, Oregon, Washington, New York, and Texas, while a nationwide strike that began Friday saw empty classrooms, shuttered businesses, and school walkouts under the slogan "No work, no school, no shopping."
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said on social media that despite talk of a possible drawdown of agents, residents had "yet to see meaningful change," adding, "Actions speak louder than words."