A Trump-appointed judge dealt the Trump administration a major setback, tossing out its lawsuit against Minnesota’s sanctuary immigration policies. The lawsuit centered on whether the Trump administration can use the Supremacy Clause to knock down Minnesota’s sanctuary laws, which include policies that bar local officials from holding illegal immigrants solely on ICE detainers.

Minnesota’s Sanctuary Policies

The policies restrict participation in federal immigration enforcement and limit the sharing of driver’s license and immigration-related data with ICE. The Justice Department argued that Minnesota’s restrictions illegally hinder ICE, but Chief U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud rejected that argument, ruling that states have the constitutional authority to decide how their own officials participate in immigration enforcement.

Tostrud concluded that accepting the administration’s claim would create a constitutional problem under the Tenth Amendment’s anti-commandeering doctrine. The judge emphasized that while Congress possesses broad authority over immigration, it cannot compel states to use their own personnel and resources to carry out federal regulatory programs.

Reaction to the Ruling

Eric Wessan, an attorney in the Iowa Solicitor General’s Office, said he believed Tostrud’s ruling conflicts with an earlier Eighth Circuit decision that he says gives the federal government stronger grounds to challenge state laws that interfere with federal immigration enforcement. Wessan argued that states are not required to help the federal government enforce federal immigration law, but the harder legal question is whether states can prohibit voluntary cooperation.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.