Keith Ellison

Force in Play

Leading state lawsuit post-TRO denial; vowed to continue legal fight; school districts lawsuit filed by coalition

States continue challenging federal immigration enforcement on multiple fronts as the legal battle expands beyond state governments to schools and civil rights organizations. U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez denied Minnesota's request for a temporary restraining order against Operation Metro Surge on February 2, 2026, citing insufficient proof of constitutional violations despite acknowledging evidence of racial profiling and excessive force. On February 4, a coalition of Minnesota school districts and educators filed a separate federal lawsuit seeking to block ICE enforcement within 1,000 feet of schools, citing traumatized students, lockdowns, and a 22% spike in daily absences following the January 7 killing of Renee Good. The crisis has escalated with two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens—Renee Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24—prompting the DOJ Civil Rights Division to open a formal investigation into Pretti's death on January 30, now led by the FBI.

Updated Feb 11

Rule Changes

Leading legal challenge to Operation Metro Surge

Minnesota hasn't elected a Republican governor since 2006. Senator Amy Klobuchar wants to keep it that way. On January 29, 2026, she announced her candidacy for governor, entering the race three weeks after Tim Walz abruptly dropped his bid for a third term amid a fraud scandal that prosecutors say could total $9 billion in stolen state funds. Early polling shows Klobuchar leading all potential Republican opponents by 14 to 20 percentage points. On February 4, Minnesota's precinct caucuses revealed the GOP primary landscape: House Speaker Lisa Demuth won decisively with 31.8% of the vote, followed by businessman Kendall Qualls at 25.2% and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell at 17.6%. Hours after Klobuchar's January 29 announcement, Border Czar Tom Homan signaled the federal government may reduce its immigration enforcement presence in Minnesota if state officials cooperate—a development that could reshape the campaign's central tension.

Updated Feb 5

Force in Play

Lead plaintiff in state lawsuit; subject of DOJ grand jury investigation; publicly disputed Homan's jail agreement claims January 30

The Department of Homeland Security deployed 3,000 federal agents to Minneapolis in what it calls the largest immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history. Two months in, two U.S. citizens are dead—Renee Good, 37, shot January 7, and Alexander Pretti, 37, an ICU nurse shot January 24—both killed after DHS claims of self-defense that witness videos contradict. Within 72 hours of Pretti's death, President Trump removed Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and dispatched Border Czar Tom Homan to take direct control. Homan arrived January 27, met with Governor Walz and Mayor Frey, and announced January 29 that federal withdrawal depends on state cooperation—specifically access to undocumented immigrants in jails and prisons. Bovino departed Minnesota January 28. On January 30, activists executed a 'National Shutdown'—a nationwide day of no work, no school, no shopping—protesting the operation, with hundreds of Minnesota businesses closing and student walkouts across all 50 states. That same day, Attorney General Keith Ellison publicly denied Homan's claims that they had reached any agreement on jail access, calling Homan's statements misleading. Hours later, the Justice Department announced a federal civil rights investigation into Pretti's death, though Trump undercut the gesture by calling Pretti an 'agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist' in a 1:26 a.m. social media post after video emerged of an earlier confrontation with agents.

Updated Jan 31

Force in Play

Co-leading state investigation

ICE agent Jonathan Ross fired three shots in 700 milliseconds, killing 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in her car on a Minneapolis street. Good was a U.S. citizen, a mother of three, standing with her wife to support neighbors during Trump's self-proclaimed "largest immigration operation ever"—2,000 federal agents deployed to Minnesota. Federal officials claim she tried to run over Ross. Minneapolis officials who reviewed video footage called that story "bullshit." Within a week, the Trump administration announced deployment of 1,000 additional federal officers to Minnesota, prompting the state and its two largest cities to file federal lawsuits challenging the enforcement surge.

Updated Jan 13

Force in Play

Invited to testify before House Oversight Committee February 10

On January 5, 2026, Governor Tim Walz became the highest-profile political casualty of Minnesota's welfare fraud crisis, announcing he would drop his bid for a third term. The stunning reversal came just two days before a contentious January 7 House Oversight Committee hearing where Republican state lawmakers testified that Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison ignored rampant fraud and silenced whistleblowers. Within 24 hours of that hearing, the Trump administration dramatically escalated its response: on January 6, HHS froze $10 billion in child care and family assistance funding to five Democratic states—California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York—citing fraud concerns but providing no evidence of wrongdoing outside Minnesota. A coalition of the five states sued immediately, and on January 9, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian granted a temporary restraining order blocking the freeze for 14 days. Hours later, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced USDA would suspend an additional $129 million in federal awards to Minnesota, prompting Ellison to vow 'I'll see you in court.'

Updated Jan 10