A US judge rejected a bid Saturday by Minnesota state and local officials to halt a surge of federal immigration enforcement operations.

The influx of nearly 3,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers in Minnesota in the last month is part of what the Trump administration has deemed “Operation Metro Surge.”

The mission is to carry out the president's order of cracking down on illegal immigration by arresting people living illegally in Minnesota and placing them in custody for the process of deportation.

But the operation has led to the deaths of several Americans, including the high-profile killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by ICE and CBP agents, which has generated massive protests in Minnesota and across the US.

Judge Katherine Menendez acknowledged that there have been instances of injustices committed by federal agents, in denying the request to end federal immigration operations.

"There is evidence that ICE and CBP agents have engaged in racial profiling, excessive use of force, and other harmful actions," Menendez wrote in her ruling.

Conversely, Menendez pointed out that ending the operation "would harm the federal government's efforts to enforce federal immigration laws."

"Ultimately, the Court finds that the balance of harms does not decisively favor an injunction," said Menenedez, adding that the federal operation "has had, and will likely continue to have, profound and even heartbreaking, consequences on the State of Minnesota, the Twin Cities, and Minnesotans."

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he was “disappointed” by the ruling and vowed to appeal, accusing the federal operation of causing fear and disruption rather than improving public safety.

“This decision doesn’t change what people here have lived through — fear, disruption, and harm caused by a federal operation that never belonged in Minneapolis in the first place,” Frey said in a statement, according to network NewsNation.

He said the city would "continue to pursue the lawsuit to hold the Trump administration to account."

US Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the decision on the US social media platform X.

"Another HUGE @TheJusticeDept legal win in Minnesota just now; a Biden-appointed district judge denied Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's attempt to keep ICE out of Minnesota," wrote Bondi.

"Neither sanctuary policies nor meritless litigation will stop the Trump Administration from enforcing federal law in Minnesota," she added. (AA)

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