Judge denies Minnesota's request to stop Operation Metro Surge

Health care workers came together at a vigil Sunday, expressing grief and anger, saying Alex Pretti was killed senselessly.

"I was angry, upset because this could've happened to me. I would've done the exact same thing. I'm a nurse, I help people. If I see someone that needs help, I'm going to help them," Catherine Cheaye said.

Cheaye was one of about 100 health care workers who all felt the same pain, sorrow and anger at the deadly shooting.

Christa Rymal, a registered nurse and founder of the We Care Nonprofit Foundation, organized the vigil for Pretti's peers at the Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis.

"I was at the capital just last week with about 75 physician leaders and they said the moral injury they're feeling right now in this moment is more intense than they felt during the pandemic," Rymal said.

[Full story]

The family of Alex Pretti released a statement about the memorial bike rides held around the world for Pretti:

"We would like to thank all of the riders who took part in the We Ride in Remembrance of Alex Pretti event this past weekend. We especially would like to thank the Angry Catfish bike shop in Minneapolis, the organizers of this wonderful worldwide event, and the many other bike shops and organizations around the world. Alex loved his bikes and called us many times talking about customizing his bikes. 

 The overwhelming response and support of riders from around the world is comforting and we will never forget this. Alex wanted to make the world a better place for all and he would be so happy seeing the incredible support from the close knit biking community. The global participation of the cycling community in this event demonstrates that there still is goodness in this world.

 We are so proud of Alex. Thank you all very much." 

The Columbia Heights Public School District celebrated 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos' return home to Minnesota on Sunday while calling for the release of all children in ICE custody.

"Columbia Heights Public Schools is so happy that Liam and his father have returned home to be reunified with his mother, brother and our community. We are very grateful for the overwhelming number of well-wishes and offers of support from people around the globe," the district said. "Liam's release is an important development, and we hope it will lead to positive developments for other families as well, including our other four students who are being held at the Dilley facility in Texas. We want all children to be released from detention centers and hope for the reunification of families who have been unjustly separated."

Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father have been released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, following a court order mandating their release, a lawyer familiar with their case told CBS News on Sunday.

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery on Saturday directed government officials to release Adrian Alexander Conejo Ramos and his son, who were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this month in Minnesota, from detention "as soon as practicable." 

Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas, posted on social media on Sunday that he had picked up Liam and his father and escorted them back to Minnesota. 

[Read more]

Protests continued at Target stores around Minnesota. 

Protesters are calling for Target to publicly denounce ICE actions and ban immigration officers from all stores. 

On Saturday, protesters filled the aisles carrying signs and chanting "Ice out."

Two weeks ago at the Richfield, Minnesota, Target two workers, both American citizens, were taken into custody by ICE agents. Both were later released. 

Earlier this month, the incoming Taget CEO signed a letter, alongside 60 other Minnesota CEOs, calling for a de-escalation of violence in the state after the death of Alex Pretti.

The American Federation of Government Employees announced they will hold a day of remembrance on Sunday for Alex Pretti.

Vigils will be held in cities across the U.S., including: 

• Albuquerque, NM 
• Ann Arbor, MI
  
• Asheville, NC
• Aurora, CO
  
• Detroit, MI
  
• Minneapolis, MN
  
• Seattle, WA

A list of specific details can be found here.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison released a statement after a federal judge denied the temporary restraining order meant to stop Operation Metro Surge. 

His statement reads in part: 

We're obviously disappointed in the court's ruling today, but this case is in its infancy and there is much legal road in front of us, so we're fighting on. We will continue to protect Minnesotans and raise the critical legal and constitutional issues at stake, and we will continue to be unrelenting in doing so. We know that these 3,000 immigration agents are here to intimidate Minnesota and bend the state to the federal government's will. That is unconstitutional under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of equal sovereignty. We're not letting up in defending our state's constitutional powers.

Together, we Minnesotans are using every tool we have and can dream of to protect each other during this harmful and dangerous surge. Everyday Minnesotans, small businesses, nonprofits, and others are creating and enacting brilliant and courageous nonviolent, civil-resistance strategies every day. My office and other public offices are adding creative legal strategies that very often are successful, and we will keep using the law in every way we can think of to protect Minnesotans. Many more people are adding their own unheralded actions. Everyone who values their neighbors, communities, and our way of life in our beloved state has something to contribute.    

Texas federal judge, Fred Biery, ordered on Saturday that 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his father Adrian Conejo Arias be released no later than Tuesday. 

The court filing states, "the case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompletely-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children." 

The Texas court found the Constitution of the United States "trumps this administration's detention of Arias and his minor son." 

In the document, Biery also writes "observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency. And the rule of law be damned."  

On Saturday, protesters gathered outside of Valley View Elementary School, where Liam was taken by ICE, demanding his return. 

Photos and video of Liam being detained by ICE agents earlier this month sparked outrage nationwide. 

Jamal Lundy, a candidate for Minnesota State Senate District 65, released a statement after being taken into custody on Friday in relation to a protest at a St. Paul church almost two weeks ago.

Lundy's statement reads in part: 

Let me be absolutely clear. I will not allow President Trump to arrest me out of this campaign. I will continue my campaign for Minnesota State Senate District 65. 

After learning of the arrest of several activists, I immediately retained counsel, who contacted the U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Marshals Service to inquire about whether a warrant existed and to make clear that I was prepared to turn myself in should one be issued. For that reason, being awakened in the middle of the night by a militarized force with military-grade weapons drawn was deeply unsettling and wholly unnecessary.  

The political persecution that I, along with activists and journalists, am facing is not rooted in any legitimate public safety concern. This has nothing to do with churches or immigration enforcement. This is about weaponizing the machinery of government to strip people of their right to resist unlawful, anti constitutional, immoral, and violent policies stemming from this administration's federal occupation of our state. In short, my arrest and the arrests of others represent an attempt to criminalize dissent under the cover of politics. 

We must recognize this for what it is. Authoritarian, un-American, and unconstitutional.   

Angry Catfish Bicycle Shop and Coffee Bar are hosting a memorial bike ride for Alex Pretti on Saturday afternoon. Pretti was an active cyclist and customer at the shop. 

The bike ride will start at a local park. Cyclists will bike 10 miles, making stops at Pretti's memorial at 26th and Lyndale in Minneapolis, Renee Good's memorial at 34th and Portland and ending at the Minneapolis VA hospital where Pretti worked. 

The family of Alex Pretti released a statement about the bike ride stating: 

We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the organizers and participants of this ride. Alex loved his community, he loved to bike and he would have loved this ride.     

Operation Metro Surge will continue after a judge denied Minnesota's temporary restraining order on Saturday morning. Court filings state Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul have not met their burden of proof. 

The argument to halt operations, in part, stated that the federal operation is "causing harm to the Twin Cities and State themselves, as well as their residents." Lawyers with the U.S. Department of Justice have called the lawsuit "legally frivolous."  

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey released a statement after Menendez's ruling that stated in part: 

"Of course, we're disappointed. This decision doesn't change what people here have lived through — fear, disruption, and harm caused by a federal operation that never belonged in Minneapolis in the first place. This operation has not brought public safety. It's brought the opposite and has detracted from the order we need for a working city. It's an invasion, and it needs to stop." 

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi took to social media Saturday to laud the ruling, calling it "another HUGE" legal win for the Justice Department on X.