Federal judge dismisses Trump administration lawsuit targeting St. Paul and Minnesota immigration policies

A federal judge on July 20 dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit against Minnesota, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Hennepin County and state and local officials over their immigration-enforcement cooperation policies.

The decision rejected the federal government’s attempt to require state and local authorities to assist with federal immigration enforcement, including by holding people on immigration detainers. The ruling held that federal authorities cannot compel state and local law-enforcement agencies to hold people on those detainers.

St. Paul was among the governmental defendants in the case, formally titled United States of America v. State of Minnesota et al. The five principal governmental defendants identified in the case were the State of Minnesota, the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Hennepin County, and the Minnesota attorney general.

Court dismisses challenge to local policies

The federal government’s case challenged Minnesota and local policies sometimes described as sanctuary policies. It sought to compel cooperation with federal immigration-enforcement priorities.

The court dismissed the lawsuit. The available summaries state that claims were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction or because they were not ripe, meaning the court did not proceed to resolve those claims on the merits at that stage.

The ruling is a court decision in litigation, rather than a new state or city policy. It does not end federal immigration enforcement in St. Paul or Minnesota, and the reviewed materials do not establish that the court found all federal immigration actions unconstitutional.

St. Paul is involved in separate federal case

The dismissal comes after St. Paul, Minneapolis and Minnesota filed a separate federal lawsuit on Jan. 12 challenging the federal immigration surge into the state. The City of Saint Paul said it joined that case with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and related officials.

That January filing is separate from the lawsuit dismissed July 20. Together, the cases reflect an ongoing legal dispute between Minnesota governments and the federal government over immigration operations and the authority of state and local governments.

The reviewed sources do not say whether the federal government will appeal the July 20 dismissal, and they do not provide an appeal deadline or another next court date. They also do not provide a full count-by-count account of the ruling.