U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel has extended a preliminary injunction requiring ICE to allow immigrants detained at Minneapolis' Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building to contact lawyers within one hour and to bar out-of-state transfers for 72 hours. The order, issued amid concerns tied to Operation Metro Surge, aims to preserve confidential access to counsel while the case continues. Advocates for Human Rights praised the decision; government lawyers say conditions and staffing have returned closer to pre-surge levels.
Judge Extends Order Requiring Immediate Attorney Access For Minnesota Immigration Detainees
FILE - Protesters yell at cars coming and going near a defaced sign for Bishop Whipple Federal building in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A federal judge in Minneapolis has extended a preliminary injunction requiring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to ensure that immigrants detained at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building can promptly contact attorneys and speak with them privately while their cases proceed.
Court Ruling And Requirements
U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel ordered that every noncitizen detained at the Whipple building be given the opportunity to contact an attorney within one hour of detention. The injunction also bars out-of-state transfers for the first 72 hours after arrest so detainees and their lawyers have sufficient time to communicate and seek to halt transfers when appropriate.
"Due process is not a game of keep-away," Judge Brasel wrote, finding that ICE often recognizes the right to counsel in policy but has placed "obstacle after obstacle" between detainees and attorneys in practice.
Background And Reactions
The extension follows a temporary restraining order Brasel issued Feb. 12 after concluding ICE appeared unprepared to protect detainees' constitutional rights during the enforcement effort known as Operation Metro Surge. The Advocates for Human Rights filed the January lawsuit, arguing detained immigrants have a fundamental right to access counsel.
Michele Garnett McKenzie, executive director of the Advocates for Human Rights, welcomed the ruling, saying confidential access to counsel is essential to due process and to protecting people from unjust rulings, coercive detention and dangerous deportation outcomes.
Government attorney Christina Parascandola told the judge ICE had been complying with the earlier order and argued a preliminary injunction was unnecessary, noting that the agency has reduced its Minnesota force from a peak of roughly 3,000 officers during the surge to about 100. Former border official Tom Homan has since declared Operation Metro Surge over, and officials say arrests have declined.
But plaintiffs' lawyers and local immigration attorneys told the court that compliance has been uneven. At a hearing, plaintiffs' attorney Jeffrey Dubner said the government’s adherence to the Feb. 12 order had been "fitful at best." Attorney Hanne Sandison testified that when attorneys inspected the Whipple facility under the court order, phone service was unreliable and the only functioning phones were not private.
What Happens Next
The injunction will remain in effect while the case proceeds through the courts. Department of Homeland Security and ICE officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the extended order.
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