Walz Beats Trump Administration Subpoenas in Immigration Row (1)

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz scored a win over the Trump administration after a judge struck down “blatantly unlawful” subpoenas to state officials as part of a probe of their alleged failure to cooperate in the US government’s immigration crackdown.

The grand jury subpoenas were part of an “unconstitutional” US effort to coerce state officials into helping the Justice Department enforce civil immigration laws and to “harass and retaliate against them for failing to do so,” US Chief District Judge Patrick Schiltz said in a ruling Monday.

The judge cited evidence of threats by top US officials, including a Jan. 13 social media post by President Donald Trump in which he blasted Minnesota officials for failing to cooperate with his immigration surge and vowing that “THE DAY OF RECKONING & RETRIBUTION IS COMING!”

“On the one hand, the evidence that the challenged subpoenas were issued for unlawful reasons is overwhelming,” Schiltz wrote. “On the other hand, the department has struggled — without success — to identify a single plausible investigatory justification for the subpoenas.”

The ruling is a setback for efforts by Trump to undermine state “sanctuary” policies that prevent local law enforcement from aiding federal efforts to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. The administration’s crackdown met significant resistance in Minnesota, particularly after federal agents shot and killed two US citizens who were protesting — Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti and mother Renee Good.

Read More: Trump to End Minnesota Immigration Blitz After Deaths, Protests

The Justice Department, in a statement, said it “takes the unlawful obstruction of federal law enforcement operations extremely seriously and will continue to act in full compliance with the law to investigate these matters.”

According to the judge, the DOJ’s subpoenas sought “broad categories of materials” going back to Jan. 1, 2025 — about a year before the start of the immigration operation in Minnesota known as Operation Metro Surge. He said Minnesota had a “bedrock” right to decline to devote resources to the operation.

“It is important to stress, once again, that the Constitution forbids the federal government from forcing states or their political subdivisions to enforce federal laws,” Schiltz said. “Indeed, the Supreme Court has emphasized that this dual-sovereign design is a fundamental part of the Constitution, intended to safeguard liberty from overreach by the federal government.”

Walz was the Democrat Party’s candidate for vice president when he ran on a ticket headed by former Vice President Kamala Harris, who failed to defeat Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

“Today’s ruling is a victory for the rule of law and our democracy,” Walz said in a statement. “A federal district judge found that the US Department of Justice’s investigation into me and other Minnesota elected officials was politically motivated, unconstitutional and meritless.”

(Updates with comment from the Justice Department.)

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