Boston calls on judge to block ICE's Minneapolis campaign

The city of Boston is putting its own legal resources behind a Twin Cities lawsuit asking a federal judge to stop immigration agents from continuing their “aggressive” enforcement campaign in the Twin Cities.

Boston attorneys co-led an amicus brief, filed this week in federal district court in Minnesota, that was joined by a host of American cities. The brief backs a lawsuit filed jointly by Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul, seeking an injunction to stop the ICE surge and protect the free speech rights of protestors.

The amicus brief said the Twin Cities campaign, dubbed Operation Metro Surge, amounts to a military occupation, and is “by far the most extensive, aggressive, reckless, and chaotic” of a series of deployments across the country.

“If the Federal Government continues to use federal immigration enforcement agencies to invade American cities, causing increased pressure and disruption, local government amici will face irreparable harm to their residents, public safety, and city services,” the filing reads.

Also signing onto the brief are the cities of Cambridge, Somerville, Chelsea, Lynn, Melrose, Newton and Northampton. Massachusetts is among states that filed a separate amicus brief in support of the lawsuit.

The brief isn't just an act of solidarity with another American city. Boston's decision to co-write the brief comes as city officials say they're preparing for another wave of ICE enforcement. A favorable ruling in the Minnesota case would not be binding in other jurisdictions, but could discourage the Trump administration from carrying out similarly brazen actions here.

Boston has led amicus briefs against the Trump administration before, including in a case involving humanitarian parole for people from Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The city has also signed on to amicus briefs, led by other jurisdictions, in cases regarding military deployments.

In the Boston brief, the city said its police carry out law enforcement without regard to immigration status, and claim that's one reason Boston recorded the lowest number of homicides in 2024 than in the previous 67 years. The brief also says ICE enforcement in Boston courthouses has eroded trust between residents and city police.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement that the courts should “curb the dangerous impulses of a reckless federal administration.”

In a legal filing in the case, lawyers for the Justice Department defend the Minnesota campaign, saying President Trump was elected on a promise to increase immigration enforcement. They argue Minnesota’s suit amounts to a “remarkable request to expel federal law enforcement from their state.”

The filing claims the Twin Cities operation has led to the arrests of more than 3,000 immigrants, out of some 66,000 people in the state potentially subject to enforcement.

Justice Department lawyers also argue the federal district court in Minnesota lacks the authority to temporarily stop ICE’s campaign there.