Judge, nominated by Trump, rules against him in key Minnesota case

Court Battles Judge, nominated by Trump, rules against him in key Minnesota case Comments: by Tara Suter - 07/20/26 11:01 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Tara Suter - 07/20/26 11:01 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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A Trump-nominated federal judge has ruled against the administration in a key case centered around local immigration policy in Minnesota.

According to a Monday filing, the Trump administration asserted that Minnesota sanctuary laws violate the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which states that federal law must be supreme to state and local law. The administration looked to have the laws and policies declared unconstitutional and asked the court to block them, per the filing.

U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud dismissed the case in his Monday ruling, writing that “the challenged provisions do not single the federal government out for less favorable treatment, at least not in any sense that shows an intergovernmental immunity violation.”

Earlier this year, Minnesota was at the center of controversy surrounding the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, with over 3,000 federal immigration personnel in the state at one point. Two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, were killed in Minneapolis by federal immigration authorities in January, causing mass outrage.

ICE officers have also fatally shot multiple people in recent weeks, with two notable cases occurring in Texas and Maine.

In February, Tostrud held the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in civil contempt over violating a court order when it took a detainee to a facility in Texas the month prior. Tostrud ordered the federal government to compensate the detainee for a return flight to Minnesota.

Tostrud noted that the detainee, who is a Mexican citizen named Fernando, had been released from the Texas detainment facility in late January without his belongings. The judge argued that federal officials had yet to properly explain their actions.

The Hill has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.

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