Did Trump win Minnesota in 2016, 2020, and 2024? Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul sue over ICE deployment

Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul filed a federal lawsuit on January 12 to block the Trump Administration's surge of ICE agents in the Twin Cities.

Updated on: Jan 13, 2026, 08:23:20 IST

By Shirin Gupta

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The state of Minnesota, along with its largest city Minneapolis and St. Paul, filed a federal lawsuit on January 12 seeking to block the Trump Administration's controversial surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agents in the Twin Cities area.

Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul filed a federal lawsuit on January 12 to block the Trump Administration's surge of ICE agents in the Twin Cities. (Unsplash/representational)

Minnesota's presidential history

In presidential elections, Minnesota has historically been seen as a Democratic-leaning (or "blue") state. In 2016, Hillary Clinton narrowly defeated Donald Trump in Minnesota to win the state's ten electoral votes. In that election, Minnesota was not won by Trump. Similarly, in the 2020 and 2024 elections, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won Minnesota, respectively.

However, in 2024, there were some Republican gains in individual counties in 2024. Trump flipped Carlton County in nearly 100 years. It was a small win as the flip did not really affect the overall democratic tilt.

Lawsuit over ICE deployment

Following the shooting death of a woman by an ICE agent last week, Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's administration on Monday in an attempt to prevent an influx of immigration enforcement personnel into the state.

Ellison cites events like Renee Good's shooting last week to accuse the Trump administration of causing "serious harm" with the spike.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and several U.S. immigration officials are named in the lawsuit, which asks a federal court in Minnesota to declare the surge illegal and unconstitutional and to stop the federal government from detaining U.S. citizens and visa holders without probable cause that they have committed a crime.

At least 2,100 ICE officers and Homeland Security investigators have recently entered the state, according to the lawsuit, which claims that this increase is "unconstitutional and unlawful."

Ellison and the state are requesting that a judge halt the increase and prevent the Trump administration from taking any other comparable moves in Minnesota.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shirin Gupta
Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More

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