Judge Dismisses DOJ Subpoenas for Minnesota Leaders’ Immigration Records

A Minnesota federal judge threw out DOJ grand jury subpoenas seeking records from Gov. Tim Walz, Atty. Gen. Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other state and local leaders over how they handled the winter immigration surge, ruling the subpoenas baseless, unethical and possibly illegal. He ordered that information obtained for the grand jury be made public, though that portion is paused pending DOJ appeal. The decision is a rare rebuke of a federal probe and a setback for the Trump administration’s effort to scrutinize Minnesota officials’ immigration actions; Walz, Ellison and Frey praised the ruling as protecting the rule of law and free speech, while the DOJ vowed to proceed within the law.