Judge halts politically-charged federal immigration probe.
Federal Judge Rules DOJ Immigration Subpoenas Against Minnesota Officials Unconstitutional and Baseless
Key Points
The subpoenas also targeted the office of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, in addition to the governor, mayors, attorney general, and county boards, broadening the scope to a county prosecutor's office.
The subpoenas were served on January 20, 2026 and sought records dating back to January 1, 2025 related to federal immigration enforcement, including any records tending to show a refusal to come to the aid of immigration officials.
The presiding judge, Patrick J. Schiltz, was appointed to Minnesota’s federal district court by President George W. Bush in 2006.
In his ruling, Schiltz described the Department of Justice’s use of the grand jury as not constituting a criminal investigation and noted that the connections between the requested records and any potential crime ranged from extremely weak to nonexistent, suggesting the subpoenas were used for unlawful purposes.
A federal judge has quashed grand jury subpoenas targeting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and five other state and local officials as part of a Trump administration immigration probe tied to Operation Metro Surge. In a blistering 29-page order issued June 22, U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz — a George W. Bush appointee — declared the subpoenas "unconstitutional, baseless, unethical and possibly illegal," according to CBS News.
Schiltz found that the links between the records sought and any actual crime ranged from "extremely weak to nonexistent." He concluded the subpoenas were designed to "harass, coerce, and retaliate" against officials who had sued the federal government over the immigration operation, according to The Los Angeles Times.
What the Subpoenas Demanded and Why They Failed
The DOJ served six subpoenas on January 20, 2026 — just eight days after Minnesota officials sued the Department of Homeland Security. The subpoenas demanded internal records dating back to January 1, 2025. They targeted the offices of Walz, Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and the Hennepin and Ramsey County boards. The office of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty was also swept in, according to Detroit News.
The DOJ used 18 U.S.C. § 372, a rarely invoked law against conspiracies to impede federal officers. But Judge Schiltz said the department "struggled — without success — to identify a single plausible investigatory justification." He ruled the grand jury process was not being used for a real criminal investigation at all, according to 6ABC.
Operation Metro Surge Sparked the Confrontation With Minnesota
The Trump administration launched Operation Metro Surge on December 4, 2025, deploying roughly 3,000 ICE and CBP agents to the Twin Cities. The White House reported more than 4,000 arrests by February 2026, calling it a public safety success. Minnesota officials called it a "federal invasion." The operation left deep scars — the Minnesota legislature passed a rent relief bill in May 2026 to help residents who missed work out of fear of arrest, according to Daily Kos.
The surge also turned deadly. Three people died during the operation, including Renee Nicole Macklin Good, a U.S. citizen shot by ICE agents on January 7, 2026, and Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an ICU nurse killed on January 24, 2026 while helping a protester. Those deaths fueled the state's legal challenge against the administration, according to KTTC.
Officials Celebrate Ruling as a Blow to Political Retaliation
Walz called the ruling "a victory for the rule of law." Ellison said the administration was "weaponizing the criminal justice system" against political dissent. Both had previously condemned the subpoenas as an attempt to punish officials for suing the federal government rather than a legitimate law enforcement effort, according to CBS News.
Legal analysts noted the timing was damning. The subpoenas landed just days after the state filed its lawsuit — suggesting the grand jury was a tool of political pressure, not a real probe. The ruling may make it harder for the federal government to use grand juries against other "sanctuary" city officials across the country, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Legal Battle Stretches Into July as DOJ Eyes Appeal
The ruling is not fully final. Schiltz also ordered that grand jury information be made public — a rare and punishing step. But that portion of his order is currently on hold while the DOJ weighs an appeal, according to Detroit News. The legal fight is expected to continue through at least July 2026.
For now, the ruling stands as a major setback for the Trump administration's strategy of using criminal probes to pressure local leaders on immigration. Schiltz's order drew a clear line: a grand jury cannot be used as a weapon of retaliation. Whether the DOJ appeals — and how courts respond — will shape how far federal power can reach into state and local government, according to 6ABC.
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