The judge’s refusal to immediately halt the operations leaves Minnesota suspended between fear and uncertainty. Federal agents will continue their intensified sweeps, even as courts prepare to probe whether those very tactics trample the Constitution. State and city officials insist that warrantless detentions, aggressive force, and raids near hospitals and airports are tearing at the fabric of public trust, driving people indoors and underground.

Yet Judge Menendez signaled that rushing a ruling would risk more than it might repair. She framed the case as a rare test of how far courts can go in restraining a core federal power: immigration enforcement. With an accelerated briefing schedule and a nation watching, her next decision could redraw the line between federal authority and civil liberty—or confirm that, for now, communities must endure first and seek justice later.