The state of Minnesota has been picked on plenty by President Donald Trump, both rhetorically and through a deadly ICE deployment. Now, Minnesota is fighting back.
Per Axios, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has joined the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in suing several Trump Administration figures, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, over what it calls a “dangerous, illegal, and unconstitutional” enforcement operation in the state.
The seat was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
JUST IN: AG Keith Ellison filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and related agencies and officials, asking the court to “end the unprecedented surge of DHS (ICE) agents into the state and declare it unconstitutional and unlawful.” Live on @KSTP pic.twitter.com/K9zzNrna4b
— Tom Hauser (@thauserkstp) January 12, 2026
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“This is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities and Minnesota. And it must stop,” Ellison, a former member of Congress, said at a press conference, per Axios.
The lawsuit, per Axios, claims that the Minnesota ICE operation is “not based on any real or legitimate concern for the enforcement of immigration laws or promotion of public safety.”
Today, I joined with @MayorFrey and Mayor Her to announce a joint lawsuit to end the unlawful and unprecedented surge of ICE agents in Minnesota.
People are being racially profiled, harassed, terrorized, and assaulted.
It has to stop. pic.twitter.com/d2uCeyGiKv
— Attorney General Keith Ellison (@AGEllison) January 13, 2026
In addition, the report said, “Attorneys for Minnesota say a temporary restraining order seeking an immediate halt to ICE operations in the Twin Cities could be heard as early as Tuesday.”
Ellison, a former member of Congress, had earlier overseen the successful Minnesota state prosecution of the four officers involved in the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago filed a similar lawsuit on Monday.
“Border Patrol agents and ICE officers have acted as occupiers rather than officers of the law,” Illinois Attorney General
“They randomly, and often violently, question residents. Without warrants or probable cause, they brutally detain citizens and non-citizens alike. They use tear gas and other chemical weapons against bystanders, injuring dozens, including children, the elderly and local police officers. I filed this lawsuit to stand up for the safety of the people of Illinois and the sovereignty of our state,” Kwame Raoul said in a statement announcing the Illinois lawsuit.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
