A U.S. federal judge ruled an ICE detention in Minnesota illegal on Jan. 26, 2026, involving a man dragged from his car by plainclothes agents last week, as Judge Menendez weighs the legality of Operation Metro Surge altogether, according to court documents cited in an X post by Politico reporter Kyle Cheney at approximately 4:30 PM UTC. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) described President Trump's decision to send Border Czar Tom Homan to Minnesota as “a positive step to get the situation under control,” telling Politico greater coordination between federal, state, and local officials is needed and sanctuary policies must end, in a statement shared by Meredith Lee on X during the reporting window. Lawler called for a “full and transparent investigation” into the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. The ruling follows Minnesota officials' accusations earlier on Jan. 26 that the Trump administration deployed 3,000 heavily armed agents via Operation Metro Surge to bypass courts, as reported by Kyle Cheney. Trump announced Homan's deployment amid protests linked to Pretti's fatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.
