MINNEAPOLIS – A pivotal legal showdown is set for Monday as a federal judge is poised to consider whether to temporarily suspend a controversial immigration initiative in Minnesota, following the fatal shootings of two individuals by government officers.

Earlier this month, the state of Minnesota, along with the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security. This legal action, initiated just five days after Renee Good was tragically shot by an Immigration and Customs officer, has gained urgency following another incident where a Border Patrol officer fatally shot Alex Pretti on Saturday.

Since the initial lawsuit, Minnesota and its cities have expanded their demands, seeking to revert to the conditions prior to the implementation of Operation Metro Surge, which began on December 1 under the Trump administration.

The crucial hearing is scheduled for Monday morning in a federal court in Minneapolis, with Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison expected to be present.

The plaintiffs are urging U.S. District Judge Kathleen Menendez to mandate a reduction in federal law enforcement presence in Minnesota to pre-surge levels, while still permitting the enforcement of immigration laws under a specified set of restrictions.

Justice Department attorneys have called the lawsuit “legally frivolous” and said “Minnesota wants a veto over federal law enforcement.” They asked the judge to reject the request or or at least stay her order pending an anticipated appeal.

Ellison said at a news conference Sunday that he and the cities filed their lawsuit because of “the unprecedented nature of this of this surge. It is a novel abuse of the Constitution that we’re looking at right now. No one can remember a time when we’ve seen something like this.”

It wasn’t clear ahead of the hearing when the judge might rule.

The case also has implications for other states that have been or could be targets of intensive federal immigration enforcement operations. Attorneys general from 19 states plus the District of Columbia, led by California, filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Minnesota.

“If left unchecked, the federal government will no doubt be emboldened to continue its unlawful conduct in Minnesota and to repeat it elsewhere,” the attorneys general wrote.

Menendez is the same judge who ruled in a separate case on Jan. 16 that federal officers in Minnesota can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren’t obstructing authorities, including people who are following and observing agents.

An appeals court temporarily suspended that ruling three days before Saturday’s shooting. But the plaintiffs in that case, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, asked the appeals court late Saturday for an emergency order lifting the stay in light of Pretti’s killing. The Justice Department argued in a reply filed Sunday that the stay should remain in place, calling the injunction unworkable and overly broad.

In yet another case, a different federal judge, Eric Tostrud, late Saturday issued an order blocking the Trump administration from “destroying or altering evidence” related to Saturday’s shooting. Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty asked for the order to try to preserve evidence collected by federal officials that state authorities have not yet been able to inspect. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Monday afternoon in federal court in St. Paul.

“The fact that anyone would ever think that an agent of the federal government might even think about doing such a thing was completely unforeseeable only a few weeks ago,” Ellison told reporters. “But now, this is what we have to do.”