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**JANUARY 27, 2026**

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I’ve been covering the courts, and from district court judges to Supreme Court justices, they seem increasingly appalled by Trump’s excesses and more willing to restrain him. That’s surely welcome. Yet as we see from the mass backlash against the grotesque ICE actions in Minneapolis and Trump’s shift to damage control, the more reliable defense of our democracy is an aroused citizenry.

**–Robert Kuttner, co-founder and co-editor**

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Adam Gray/AP Photo

Courts Struggle to Contain ICE [link removed]

The Trump administration found itself in court again Monday, needing to defend its indefensible actions on the ground in Minneapolis. Yet judges didn’t appear to be in a hurry to shut down the administration’s campaign.

In one courtroom, an obviously torn District Judge Katherine Menendez, a Biden appointee, was skeptical and occasionally scathing in questioning administration lawyers, yet uncertain about her own powers under the Tenth Amendment, which reserves to the states powers not expressly delegated to the federal government. “I mean, is there no limit to what the executive can do under the guise of enforcing immigration law?” Menendez asked [link removed] the administration's lawyers. Yet she also pressed lawyers for the state, “How do I decide when a law enforcement response crosses the line from a legitimate law enforcement response to a response that violates the Tenth Amendment?” She plans to issue a ruling by Thursday.

In another federal courtroom, Judge Eric Tostrud heard arguments on a suit by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to ensure that DHS doesn’t alter or destroy evidence tied to Alex Pretti’s murder by ICE. On Sunday, Tostrud—a Trump appointee—temporarily granted the request until he could hear arguments Monday afternoon. 

Litigation is also challenging the administration’s invention of a legally nonexistent category known as administrative warrants, whereby ICE agents can circumvent the illegal search and seizure prohibitions of the Fourth Amendment, which requires a judge to sign off on a search warrant based on probable cause. 

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