Judge Katherine M. Menendez on Saturday denied a preliminary injunction requested in a lawsuit filed this month by state Attorney General Keith Ellison and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

It argued that the Department of Homeland Security violated constitutional protections. The suit seeks an immediate injunction to stop the enforcement action or limit its scope. Attorneys for the US Department of Justice called the lawsuit “legally frivolous.”

The injunction ruling focused on the argument of Minnesota officials that the federal government violated the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, which limits the power of the federal government to infringe on the sovereignty of the states. In his ruling, the judge relied heavily on whether that argument would likely succeed in court.

The federal government argued that the surge, called Operation Metro The surge is necessary in its effort to get criminal immigrants off the streets and because federal efforts have been blocked by state and local “sanctuary laws and policies.” State and local officials argued that the surge was in retaliation after the federal government’s earlier attempt withholding federal funds the attempt to force immigration cooperation failed.

“Because there is evidence supporting both sides’ arguments about motivation and the relative merits of each side’s competing positions are unclear, the Court is reluctant to find that the likelihood of success is sufficiently weighted in favor of granting a preliminary injunction,” the judge said in the decision.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi took to social media on Saturday to praise the decision, calling it “another huge” legal victory for the Justice Department last week. X.

Federal officers kill two people on the streets of Minneapolis: Renee is great on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24.