Commandeering

There may be lots of things wrong with the way the Trump Administration is handling immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, but commandeering is not among them.

Jonathan H. Adler | 1.31.2026 1:21 PM

Speaking of commandeering, today in Minnesota v. Trump, federal district court Judge Kate Menendez rejected Minnesota's request for an injunction against the Trump Administration's "Operation Metro Surge" immigration enforcement initiative in Minneapolis. Unlike my co-blogger Ilya Somin, I believe Judge Menendez was entirely correct to do so, as existing law does not remotely support Minnesota's claims.

As Judge Menendez recognized, the anti-commandeering doctrine is relatively narrow. It bars the federal government from issuing directives to state or local governments, Under the relevant cases, the federal government may not force state or local governments to administer or enforce a federal regulatory scheme or adopt federal law enforcement or regulatory priorities. For this reason, states are not obligated to assist the........

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