Federal judge grants injunction allowing clergy visits at Minneapolis ICE holding facility

Source: AP

Updated 2:17 PM EDT, March 20, 2026


ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Clergy will be allowed to minister to immigrants in a holding facility at the headquarters of the Trump administration’s enforcement surge in Minnesota, a federal judge ruled Friday. U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell granted an injunction requested by Minnesota branches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Church of Christ, and a Catholic priest who had sued the Department of Homeland Security.

Under his ruling, clergy will be allowed in-person pastoral visits to all detainees at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, the site of frequent protests over roughly the 3,000 federal officers who had surged into the state at the height of the crackdown.

Blackwell said the plaintiffs had met their burden of proving that they’re likely to succeed when the case reaches a final conclusion, and that restrictions on the religious freedom of clergy to minister to detainees constitutes “irreparable harm.”

He ordered both sides to meet within four business days to try to agree on details for how to provide access that takes into account the government’s legitimate security concerns, and then submit a plan within seven business days, or competing proposals if they can’t agree.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-immigration-enforcement-religion-aee3380f484d6e2554c0ed851c2dd042