Tim Walz just made a massive legal miscalculation that could blow up in his face.
The Minnesota governor thinks he found a loophole to stop ICE.
And one photo from 2012 just came back to haunt Tim Walz in the worst way.
Minnesota Claims Tenth Amendment Blocks Federal Immigration Enforcement
Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis officials filed a lawsuit trying to kick ICE out of Minnesota using a Tenth Amendment argument.
Their legal theory claims Minnesota has "inviolable sovereign authority to protect the health and wellbeing" of everyone within state borders, including people here illegally.
Translation: Walz wants states to have veto power over federal immigration law.
There's just one problem with that theory.
The Supreme Court already demolished this exact argument over a decade ago.
Walz is going even further by telling Minnesota residents to track and film federal agents so the state can prosecute them later.
He's literally declaring war on federal law enforcement for doing their jobs.
This is the same governor who deployed the National Guard to force Minnesotans into their homes during COVID.
But violent criminals walking free? That's perfectly fine with Walz.
For years, Minnesota ignored massive fraud in Somali daycare and Medicaid programs while state officials looked the other way.
Now Walz wants everyone focused on ICE instead of his own failures.
Jan Brewer's Finger-Wag Exposes Democrats' Immigration Flip-Flop
Anyone remember this scene?
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer wagging her finger in Barack Obama's face at a Phoenix airport in January 2012.
That confrontation captured the bitter fight over who controls immigration enforcement.
Arizona passed SB1070 in 2010 to help the federal government enforce immigration law.
Obama's Justice Department sued immediately, arguing that immigration enforcement belonged exclusively to Washington.
The Supreme Court agreed with Obama in June 2012.
Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that Arizona's law violated the Supremacy Clause because immigration is purely federal territory.
The Court struck down three of Arizona's four provisions.
Obama won because the Court said states can't interfere with federal immigration policy even when they want to help enforce it.
That precedent didn't expire, and Walz is about to learn that the hard way.
Biden Lost This Same Fight Just Two Years Ago
Minnesota isn't the first state to try the Tenth Amendment gambit recently.
Texas and Louisiana sued Biden in 2021 over his immigration enforcement priorities, wanting to force the administration to deport more people.
The Supreme Court slapped them down in June 2023.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for an 8-1 majority that Texas lacked standing to challenge federal enforcement priorities.
The President has discretion over how immigration law gets enforced, and states don't get a say.
Biden's team argued successfully that states can't override federal immigration policy.
Which makes Minnesota's current lawsuit absolutely hilarious.
Democrats spent years telling Arizona they couldn't help enforce immigration law.
Now Minnesota thinks it can block immigration enforcement entirely using the exact constitutional argument that failed before.
The legal precedent is crystal clear from both Democrat and Republican administrations: states don't control federal immigration policy.
Walz Chose Criminals Over Public Safety
Here's what Minnesota's sanctuary policies actually protect.
DHS released a list showing the criminals Walz chose to release instead of turning them over to ICE.
Leny Odemel Ramirez-Santos from Honduras, charged with sex offenses against a child and drunk driving.
Edwin Amable Ashca Ninasuta from Ecuador, charged with lewd acts with a minor.
Puol Both from Sudan, convicted of making terroristic threats, burglary, aggravated robbery, and larceny.
Over 1,360 criminal illegal aliens total that Minnesota refused to hand over to federal authorities.
Walz released child predators and violent felons back onto Minnesota streets rather than let ICE deport them.
The DOJ is now investigating both Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for obstruction of federal law enforcement.
Grand jury subpoenas were issued examining whether they violated federal statutes making it a crime to prevent federal officers from doing their jobs.
When Arizona wanted to help enforce federal law under Obama, Democrats screamed about federal supremacy.
Now Minnesota wants to obstruct federal law under Trump, and Democrats suddenly love states' rights.
That Jan Brewer photo captures the exact moment Democrats established the precedent that's about to destroy Walz's lawsuit.
Sources:
- Byron York, Twitter post, January 16, 2026.
- CNN, "Minnesota, Twin Cities sue Trump administration over widespread immigration operations," January 12, 2026.
- Fox News Opinion, "What's happening in Minnesota? And why we have the Insurrection Act," January 16, 2026.
- Department of Homeland Security, "DHS Calls on Governor Walz and Mayor Frey to Honor ICE Arrest Detainers," January 13, 2026.
- CBS News Minnesota, "Department of Justice investigating Gov. Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Frey," January 16, 2026.
- Cornell Law School, "Arizona v. United States," 567 U.S. 387 (2012).
- Texas Tribune, "Supreme Court rejects Texas lawsuit over Biden deportation policy," June 23, 2023.
