Updated Jan. 26, 2026, 12:38 p.m. ETA federal judge is weighing whether to grant a request from officials in Minnesota to temporarily stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement action they say is unlawful and relies on the use of excessive force and racial profiling.The state, joined by the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, asked federal Judge Kate Menendez to provide a temporary pause on ICE's activity as part of a larger lawsuit that alleges the Trump administration is violating the state's constitutional right to police its own state."This administration, your honor, is not content with the rule of law," Brian Carter, a lawyer with the Minnesota attorney general's office, said at a hearing Jan. 26. "They are not content with letting the courts work this stuff out. Instead, they put violence into the streets of Minnesota to get what they want."But Menendez, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, appeared skeptical of the state's argument. "I don't know how you are asking me to identify when the federal government has crossed the line," she told Carter.The state's lawsuit says federal officers "are engaged in a campaign of racial profiling, excessive force, retaliation, enforcement at sensitive locations, open disregard for and violations of defendants’ own policies, and open disregard for and violations of state law."The Department of Homeland Security, the umbrella agency that includes ICE, wrote in court documents that the state of Minnesota is "effectively seeking a state veto over the enforcement of federal law by federal officers. Nothing in the Constitution countenances this absurdity."Minnesota says ICE enforcement is unconstitutionalMinnesota says ICE's enforcement is prohibited under the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, a state sovereignty amendment that gives states and the public all powers that aren't specifically given to the federal government. Among those powers is providing for policing and education, according to the state.Minnesota says ICE is effectively forcing local law enforcement to clean up "messes" ICE has created, rather than respond to other 911 calls and do their normal work to protect local communities and roadways.The city of Minneapolis alone has had to pay millions of dollars in overtime to police officers suffering psychological trauma, court documents say. Public schools also canceled multiple days of school for thousands of students due to safety concerns, local authorities said.Trump administration says ICE enforcement is lawfulThe Trump administration says the surge in Minneapolis, dubbed Operation Metro Surge, led to the arrest of more than 3,000 people who weren't authorized to be in the United States."Minnesota is safer because of this project; persons convicted of murder, aggravated assault, domestic abuse, drug trafficking, and other serious crimes have been arrested through this effort," the administration wrote in court documents.Federal immigration agents are in Minnesota to enforce immigration laws, the administration said, "not to run (or close) schools or enforce Minnesota state law."What can bring a pause?In deciding on whether to issue the temporary pause, Menendez will need to consider any potential harm to federal authorities, the likelihood that local authorities will win their lawsuit in the long run, and the public interest.Minnesota says that the federal government has enforced federal laws for decades before the current immigration enforcement action and "may continue to enforce such laws even with (the) requested injunction in place."This story has been updated to add new information.Contributing: Reuters.