A U.S. judge has refused to order President Donald Trump’s administration to halt an immigration crackdown in Minnesota amid massive protests. fatal shooting Enforced by federal agents in every state in the United States.

U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez on Saturday rejected a preliminary injunction sought in a lawsuit filed this month by state Attorney General Keith Ellison and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

She said state authorities have made a strong case that immigration agents’ tactics, including shootings and evidence of racial profiling, are having “profound and even heartbreaking consequences for Minnesota, the Twin Cities and the state of Minnesota.”

But “ultimately, the court finds that the balance of harms does not conclusively support the issuance of an injunction,” Menendez wrote in his ruling.

The lawsuit seeks to stop or control a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operation that sent thousands of immigration agents to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, sparking mass protests and resulting in the killings of two U.S. citizens. federal agent.

Tensions rise since Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shoots Minneapolis mother Renee Nicole Goode on January 7 in her car.

Federal border agents also killed 37-year-old man Nurse Alex Pretty The incident on Jan. 24 sparked more public outrage in the city and calls for accountability.

Trump’s so-called “border czar” Tom Homan tells reporters earlier this week The government is working to make immigration operations “safer and more efficient”.

But that didn’t stop the demonstrations, with thousands of protesters taking to the streets of Minneapolis on Friday. nationwide strike Condemned the Trump administration’s repressive actions.

“It feels like the federal government is here more to (siege) Minnesota than to protect us,” City Councilmember Cheniqua Johnson told Al Jazeera on Saturday at a memorial rally in St. Paul.

Residents said they were afraid to leave their homes to buy groceries, she said. “I’m getting calls from community members … who are trying to do (daily) things,” Johnson said.

“That’s why you’re seeing people in Minnesota willing to stand in negative weather, marching by the thousands…against the injustices that we see when law and order is not upheld.”

racial profiling accusations

Minnesota state and local officials argue in lawsuit that immigration crackdown tantamount to revenge Washington’s initial attempts to withhold federal funds to force immigration cooperation failed.

They maintain that the surge amounts to an unconstitutional drain on state and local resources, noting that schools and businesses have been shut down in the wake of what local officials describe as aggressive, poorly trained and armed federal officers.

Minnesota Attorney General Ellison also accused federal agents of racially profiling citizens, unlawfully detaining legal residents for hours and using heavy-handed tactics to incite fear.

The Trump administration says its actions are aimed at enforcing federal immigration laws as part of the president’s push to carry out the largest mass deportations in U.S. history.

On Saturday, District Court Judge Menendez said her decision not to issue a temporary restraining order, which will be argued in court, is not a final ruling on the state’s overall case.

She has not yet determined whether Minnesota’s immigration crackdown is illegal.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called the judge’s ruling a “huge” victory for the Justice Department.

“Neither sanctuary policies nor baseless lawsuits will prevent the Trump administration from enforcing federal law in Minnesota,” she wrote on X.

mayor of minneapolis Jacob Frey said he was disappointed with the ruling.

“This decision does not change what people here are experiencing — fear, chaos and harm caused by federal actions that do not belong in Minneapolis,” Frey said in a statement.

“This operation did not deliver public safety. It did the opposite and undermined the order we need in our working cities. This is an invasion and it needs to stop.”