Federal Judge Denies Halt to "Operation Metro Surge" as Immigration Case Unfolds
A busy Saturday in courtrooms across the country saw a federal judge deny Minnesota's request to temporarily halt "Operation Metro Surge," while another judge ordered the release of a father and son from ICE detention in Texas.
In Minnesota, U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez denied the motion for a temporary restraining order to halt "Operation Metro Surge." According to court documents filed on Saturday, Minnesota and its cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul did not meet their burden of proof. The argument to halt operations stated that the federal operation is "causing harm to the Twin Cities and State themselves, as well as their residents." Lawyers with the U.S. Department of Justice called the lawsuit "legally frivolous." Menendez cited a recent case where the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a preliminary injunction ruling that restricted the force federal agents can use on peaceful protesters, saying that court case had "much more settled precedent."
The operation has drawn scrutiny following the death of Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti on January 24. Jose Huerta Chuma, an immigrant from Ecuador, described witnessing the shooting after hiding inside a local business. Huerta Chuma, who said he has been in the U.S. for over two decades, expressed distress over the incident, wondering if he could have done something differently to save Pretti's life. "I think, maybe if I hadn't gone to that place, or I don't know, a little later or a little earlier, I mean, that never would [have happened]," Huerta Chuma said. The Department of Homeland Security has described Huerta Chuma as a criminal living in the U.S. illegally who was the target of the Border Patrol operation that led to the encounter with Pretti.
Meanwhile, in Texas, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ordered the release of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Ramos, from immigration detention. Granting an emergency request filed by the family's lawyer, Biery directed government officials to release the pair, who were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this month in Minnesota, "as soon as practicable," but no later than Tuesday, Feb. 3. Earlier in the week, Biery had blocked ICE from deporting Liam and his family or transferring them away from Texas, while the legal case unfolds.
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