MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge is considering whether to temporarily limit the tactics of immigration agents in Minnesota after hearing arguments in a lawsuit alleging mistreatment of Twin Cities residents by ICE agents.

During a Jan. 13 hearing in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, attorneys representing six Minnesota residents asked the court for a preliminary injunction that would temporarily rein in federal agents in Minnesota while the case proceeds, to include limits on pointing firearms and deploying chemical irritants against citizens.

The ACLU of Minnesota filed a lawsuit Dec. 17 on behalf of the residents, who claim federal authorities violated their constitutional rights while they were observing Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions. It argues the heavy-handed enforcement at the hands of federal officers flooding the state has chilled their free speech and rights against unlawful search and seizure. The suit calls for the court to restrict a number of actions by federal agents, including use of crowd control weapons and limiting their ability to arrest any citizen who is not resisting a crowd dispersal order.

Since President Donald Trump returned to office and escalated immigration enforcement, some Minnesota protesters have been arrested and charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing officers.

Among the tactics alleged in the lawsuit:

Federal officials have repeatedly defended their immigration enforcement efforts, saying their agents are responding to unruly crowds and agitated protesters. The Justice Department attorneys also described concerns over an increase in drivers pursuing ICE vehicles to monitor agents’ behavior — a phenomenon they said was “virtually nonexistent” before 2025.

Yet Justice Department attorneys also appeared to struggle responding to U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez’s questions about whether protesters are acting within their First Amendment rights when following immigration agents in their cars.

Jeremy Newman, from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, repeatedly emphasized that drivers are “chasing” ICE vehicles across the state for the sole purpose of drawing large crowds to scenes of their operations. Menendez pressed him, saying she hasn’t seen any evidence the drivers were breaking traffic laws.

Attorneys for the observers argued during the hearing that following ICE vehicles is protected activity.

“The fact that individuals are protesting in a new way … does not remove that activity from its First Amendment protected character,” said Kyle Wislocky, an attorney for the protesters.

In arguing against an injunction, attorneys for the federal government say in court records that any decision by the court about the officers’ tactics is overreach.

“It would place this Court in the business of micromanaging DHS officers’ conduct throughout Minnesota, including when and how officers can use force, display their firearms, make arrests, and use crowd control mechanisms.”

Minnesota officials on Monday filed a separate lawsuit against the surge of ICE agents into Minnesota.

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(Chris Magan of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this report.)

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