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Tricia McLaughlin stated that any claim that the government would destroy evidence is "a ridiculous attempt to divide the American people and distract from the fact that our law enforcement officers were attacked."

They filed a complaint asking the court to declare the federal government's restriction of state access to evidence unconstitutional.

Judge Eric Tostrud, a Trump appointee, granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from "destroying or altering" evidence related to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez, a Biden appointee, is scheduled to hear arguments in that case.

The federal government has characterized the state's argument as "absurdity" and "legally frivolous," maintaining that "Operation Metro Surge" is an exclusively federal mission to enforce federal law that has successfully resulted in thousands of arrests. They also argued that expelling federal officers from the state would constitute an "unprecedented act of judicial overreach."

The lawsuit argues that the federal crackdown infringes on state authority and constitutes coercion, which the state and cities contend is a violation of the Tenth Amendment. The complaint states that the administration's actions force a choice between using state and local law enforcement resources for federal civil immigration priorities or accepting an occupation by federal troops.