On Monday, January 12, 2026, state and city officials in Minnesota and Illinois filed federal lawsuits against the Trump administration that claimed the mass deployment of immigration agents in the Minneapolis and Chicago regions violated the U.S. Constitution Tenth Amendment, First Amendment, and rights to the equal protection and due process, alleging federal agents’ aggressive immigration enforcement actions were unconstitutional, leading to profiling and arrests without probable cause.
Additionally, Illinois asked a judge to block U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Illinois and Minnesota have both claimed within their lawsuits that the federal deployments violated state sovereignty under the Constitution’s 10th Amendment. However, federal officials have defended their work tirelessly in both states, calling their campaigns necessary to carry out President Trump’s immigration agenda. According to The New York Times, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, responded in a statement to the Illinois case that, “this is a baseless lawsuit, and we look forward to proving that in court.”
Tensions have been high in Minneapolis since an immigration agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, an American citizen. This has sparked a large amount of protests in numerous places. These places being Philadelphia, New York City, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Colorado, including rallies in Denver, Aurora, Boulder, and Grand Junction. Local resident, Heidi, states, “There must be an end to this violence. ICE officials are not well trained and are killing people and using unnecessary force on peaceful protesters. This is not moral, legal, or just.” The federal government has defended the shooting as lawful and necessary, claiming it was self-defense, while local officials have dispersed this narrative.
These newly filed lawsuits ask federal judges to inflict extensive limits on the conduct of federal agents in both states. The Illinois lawsuit specifically outlines a list of complaints about the use of tear gas, the collection of photographs, and fingerprints by immigration agents. Another quote from The New York Times says ‘“People are being racially profiled, harassed, terrorized, and assaulted,” Attorney General Keith Ellison’ stated. As tensions are rising and attacks are escalating, it is important to look for the good wherever you can.
