A federal judge will hear arguments Monday morning on whether Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s massive immigration crackdown in Minnesota, violates the Constitution. The hearing comes just 48 hours after Border Patrol agents fatally shot a second American citizen in Minneapolis, prompting NBA figures Charles Barkley and Steve Kerr to publicly condemn the federal operation.
U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez is expected to consider a preliminary injunction that would dramatically curtail the operation, which has deployed roughly 3,000 federal agents to the Twin Cities since December 2025. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who plans to personally argue the case, called the surge “an illegal and unconstitutional occupation” of the state.
Two Fatal Shootings in Three Weeks
The urgency of Monday’s hearing has intensified following Saturday’s shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse who worked at the Minneapolis VA hospital serving veterans. Border Patrol agents shot Pretti during an enforcement operation in south Minneapolis, claiming he approached them with a firearm.
Video footage reviewed by multiple news outlets, including Reuters and The Wall Street Journal, appears to contradict that account. The recordings show Pretti holding a cellphone, not a weapon, when federal agents pepper-sprayed him and wrestled him to the ground before shooting him. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called the government’s self-defense narrative “nonsense” after reviewing the footage.
Pretti’s death follows the January 7 shooting of Renee Good, also an American citizen, who was killed by an ICE agent while driving her SUV. The Department of Homeland Security claimed Good posed a threat with her vehicle, but the shooting sparked immediate outrage and helped trigger the state’s lawsuit filed five days later.
Barkley Demands Adults ‘Step Up’
The NBA postponed Saturday’s game between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves following Pretti’s shooting, with the league citing the need to “prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community.” During the announcement on “Inside the NBA,” Charles Barkley delivered an unfiltered response to the escalating violence.
“Going back to, I think her name was Renee Good, and today man, it’s just sad, man. It’s scary,” Barkley said. “It’s gonna end bad. It’s already ended badly twice. Somebody’s gotta step up and be adults. Two people have died for no reason, and it’s just sad.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, known for speaking out on social justice issues, also addressed the situation before the rescheduled Sunday game. “It’s very sad. I love the city of Minneapolis, it’s very sad what’s happening,” Kerr told reporters. “There’s a pall that has been cast over the city, you can feel it. A lot of people are suffering. Those families will never get their family members back.”
Kerr called for Americans to support one another during a tense political moment. “What’s so sad about all of this is that we are at each other’s throats right now. You can’t just say ‘I’m right and the other person’s wrong,’ not in this current climate of nonstop news flooding at us.”
Legal Battle Escalates
Monday actually brings two separate hearings related to the federal immigration operation. In the morning, Judge Menendez will hear arguments on Minnesota’s request for a preliminary injunction that would reduce federal agent numbers to pre-surge levels while imposing strict limits on enforcement tactics. In the afternoon, a separate hearing before Judge Eric Tostrud will address an emergency order preserving evidence from Pretti’s shooting.
The state’s lawsuit alleges Operation Metro Surge violates the Tenth Amendment by effectively commandeering state and local law enforcement resources. Minneapolis police logged more than 3,000 hours of overtime in just the first few days of the surge, at an estimated cost exceeding $2 million to local taxpayers. Schools have been forced into lockdowns, businesses have closed, and emergency response systems have been strained.
The Justice Department has dismissed the lawsuit as “legally frivolous,” arguing Minnesota is seeking “a state veto over the enforcement of federal law.” Federal attorneys claim the state’s sanctuary policies have increased dangers for immigration officers, who they say face “heightened threats and violence.”
Political Targeting Allegations
Central to Minnesota’s legal argument is the claim that Operation Metro Surge represents political retaliation rather than legitimate immigration enforcement. The lawsuit points to President Trump’s own words from a January 9 interview in which he called Minnesota “corrupt” and “crooked” because state officials accurately certified election results that did not favor him.
“I feel that I won Minnesota all three times. I think I won it all three times,” Trump said in the interview. “It’s a corrupt voter state.”
Minnesota’s undocumented immigrant population sits at roughly 1.5% of total residents, less than half the national average, which state officials cite as evidence that the massive enforcement operation lacks justification on immigration grounds alone.
Appeals Court Complicates Picture
The legal landscape shifted last week when the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily lifted restrictions Judge Menendez had placed on federal agents’ use of force against protesters. Attorney General Pam Bondi called the appeals court decision a “victory,” accusing the district judge of trying to “handcuff ICE agents who are enforcing the Nation’s immigration laws.”
That ruling has emboldened the Trump administration even as criticism mounts. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to social media following Pretti’s shooting to write “Shame on the leadership of Minnesota, and the lunatics in the street. ICE > MN.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has issued grand jury subpoenas to Governor Walz and other state officials, investigating whether they obstructed federal law enforcement. The move represents yet another escalation in what has become the most significant federal-state confrontation over immigration enforcement in modern American history.
Community Response
The Minneapolis community has mobilized in response to the federal operation. At Sunday’s rescheduled Timberwolves game, the arena held a moment of silence for Pretti, followed by crowd chants condemning ICE. Thousands protested in Minneapolis over the weekend, with solidarity demonstrations also taking place in San Francisco and San Jose.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, visibly emotional during his pregame availability, spoke to the weight of the moment. “As we all know, our community has suffered yet another unspeakable tragedy,” Finch said. “We want to convey our condolences and heartfelt wishes and prayers and thoughts to the families and loved ones and all of those that are greatly affected by what happened.”
Minneapolis rapper Nur-D was among those detained by federal agents during Saturday’s protests. He later reported that agents stole his cellphone while he was in custody. “As long as ICE can openly murder people in the streets with impunity, there is no justice,” he said after his release.
The outcome of Monday’s hearing could determine whether Operation Metro Surge continues in its current form or faces judicially imposed constraints. Either way, the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have transformed what the Trump administration framed as routine immigration enforcement into a constitutional crisis with no clear end in sight.