Judge blocks deportation of 5‑year‑old and father seized in Minnesota

A federal judge has issued a temporary order barring the U.S. government from removing a 5‑year‑old boy and his father who were detained in Minnesota during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge, freezing their deportation while their case is litigated. The pair were among the wave of local arrests that have swept up schoolchildren and parents across the Twin Cities, prompting emergency habeas petitions and sharp criticism from state officials over due‑process violations. The order requires ICE and DHS to keep both child and parent in place and to notify the court before any transfer or change in status, effectively preventing the kind of rapid out‑of‑state flights that have blindsided other Minnesota families. Immigration attorneys say the ruling adds to a string of recent Minnesota decisions finding ICE’s conduct constitutionally suspect and are sharing it widely as a roadmap for other families now hiding or considering legal action. The case lands as school districts from Columbia Heights to Minneapolis and St. Paul scramble to expand online options and reassure parents that sending children to class won’t make them targets.