MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul is joining a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of Minnesota’s lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s extraordinary campaign of lawlessness during its deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol to the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
“No community in America should ever be subjected to what the Trump administration has unleashed in the Minneapolis area,” said AG Kaul. “What is happening in Minnesota is an affront to our freedom, our liberty, and our Constitution. This shocking and blatant abuse of power by the Trump administration must stop.”
Over the course of just a few weeks, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has sent more than 3,000 federal agents into the Twin Cities area. The actions of the federal government have set in motion a campaign of recklessness and disregard for constitutional policing that continues to undermine public safety. In the brief, the coalition urges the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota to order an immediate halt to the federal government’s lawless actions — actions that are causing unacceptable harm to Minnesota, its cities, and people.
Beginning in December 2025, DHS began to threaten an escalation in enforcement targeting Minnesota and the Twin Cities area. One operation, dubbed “Operation Metro Surge” — what U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons has called the agency’s “largest immigration operation ever” — follows Donald Trump’s campaign promise of an aggressive mass deportation program that would be the largest in American history. Throughout the operation, public reporting has indicated that Secretary Noem has deployed as many as 3,000 federal immigration officers to Minnesota. Of that number, 2,000 are ICE personnel, hundreds are Border Patrol agents, and others are from U.S. Department of Justice agencies. More recently, President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, and it is reported that the Pentagon is possibly preparing to deploy 1,500 troops to Minnesota. These actions have endangered public safety, with local law enforcement agencies being forced to divert large portions of their forces to respond.
In their brief, AG Kaul and the coalition argue that a temporary restraining order is important to protect the public. They highlight that the federal government’s actions threaten sovereign powers — like policing and promoting the public safety, health, and welfare of the people — that the Constitution reserves for the states.
Joining AG Kaul in filing the amicus brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.
View this press release on the DOJ website here.
