Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Federal law enforcement can use force while enforcing federal immigration laws in Minnesota amid a roundup of those who illegally are in the country, a federal appeals court ruled.
A panel with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis on Wednesday issued a one-sentence ruling staying a lower court's injunction against the use of force or crowd dispersal munitions, such as tear gas and pepper spray, against protesters who are not engaged in violence, according to The New York Times.
U.S. District Court of Minnesota Judge Katherine Menendez on Friday imposed the restrictions and another preventing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and others from making traffic stops of people who are not "forcibly obstructing or interfering" with federal officers.
The Trump administration appealed the ruling, arguing that it amounted to a "broad injunction regulating [Department of Homeland Security] officers' operations" and "harms DHS officers' ability to protect themselves and the public in very dangerous circumstances."
Wednesday's appellate court ruling only applies to the use of force and does not regard the merits of the federal government's appeal, which is yet to be decided.
