US judge blocks DOJ subpoenas targeting Minnesota immigration stance
Why it matters: The ruling undercut a Trump-era effort to force state and local officials to aid federal deportation operations.
A federal judge in Minnesota blocked Justice Department subpoenas seeking records from state and local officials, including Gov. Tim Walz, in an investigation tied to resistance to federal immigration enforcement. In an order unsealed Monday, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz wrote that the subpoenas were chiefly meant to pressure Minnesota officials into helping enforce civil immigration law and to punish them for refusing. The subpoenas went to six offices as the Trump administration examined whether Democratic officials had obstructed immigration operations during a January crackdown in Minneapolis, where federal agents were deployed for deportation roundups.