MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The Trump administration can continue its immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis after a ruling from a federal judge on Saturday.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Borders Czar Tom Homan said last week there are plans to draw down the federal government's operation there, but many residents in Minneapolis tell NPR they don't feel like anything has changed on the ground as arrests and protests against them continue each day.
MARTIN: Here to talk about all of that is NPR's Kat Lonsdorf who's in Minneapolis. Kat, good morning.
KAT LONSDORF, HOST:
Hey, good morning.
MARTIN: So, there have been a number of lawsuits directed at DHS.
LONSDORF: Yeah.
MARTIN: So can you just remind us what this court case was about?
LONSDORF: Yeah. State and city officials had wanted an immediate pause to this federal military style operation here, which has been going on for nearly two months. Attorneys representing Minnesota and the Twin Cities had argued in court that the federal actions were violating constitutional protections and causing, quote, "tremendous damage" and had asked for a temporary restraining order. But on Saturday, U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez, a President Biden appointee, denied that request after reviewing it for quite some time. Her ruling really focused on the state's argument and whether it was likely to succeed in court. And ultimately, she said she didn't think it would.
MARTIN: Did she rule on the merits? I mean, I guess, did the judge think the Trump administration's actions were justified?
LONSDORF: Right. This wasn't a ruling on the merits of the case, just on the temporary restraining order, but it dealt with huge constitutional questions and implications for the federal government, and the judge acknowledged that. But at the same time, she wrote about the strain this operation has put on people here, saying it, quote, "has had and will likely continue to have profound and even heartbreaking consequences for the state of Minnesota."
MARTIN: Meanwhile, a different judge in Texas made another ruling over the weekend ordering...
LONSDORF: Yeah.
MARTIN: ...That a 5-year-old boy and his father be released from federal custody. What can you tell us about that?
LONSDORF: Yeah, this is 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias. Michel, you've probably seen the picture of Little Liam wearing a bright blue bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack surrounded by immigration and customs enforcement officers as he was detained in a Minneapolis suburb. Liam and his dad had then been sent to a detention facility in Texas. And on Saturday, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, appointed by President Clinton, wrote a scathing opinion ordering their release. He wrote that, quote, "the case had its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children." And he ended it, quote, "with a judicial finger in the constitutional dike, it is so ordered." And yesterday, the father and son, with his fluffy hat and backpack, returned to Minnesota.
MARTIN: And you're there. So what are people on the street saying about the continued presence of immigration agents?
LONSDORF: Yeah. Not a single person I've talked to here in the past few days feels like they trust comments from Trump officials that the number of federal agents in the city will go down. There doesn't seem to be any relief. There are still arrests happening daily. There are still protests happening daily, too. On Friday, thousands and thousands of people were downtown taking up the streets for blocks, chanting in support of immigrants, and smaller protests are organized throughout the city every single day in parks or even on frozen lakes. There's a sense here that people will keep pushing back and protecting their neighbors for as long as needed, even as we've seen two U.S. citizens doing that killed by federal agents. One person told me that Minnesotans have a new way of saying goodbye to each other right now - stay warm and stay safe.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Kat Lonsdorf in Minneapolis. Kat, thank you.
LONSDORF: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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