Legal Updates Archive

The 2025 Minnesota special legislative session led to notable changes for Minnesota environmental and natural resource laws.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently issued a memorandum clarifying the scope of Clean Water Act Section 401 certification.

Effective June 1, 2025, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency finalized its 2025 Multi-Sector General National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)/State Disposal System (SDS) Permit MNR050000 regulating the discharge of industrial stormwater.

President Trump issued a proclamation, “Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.” The proclamation includes a country-by-country list of restrictions and exceptions.

Following a Boulder, Colorado, attack perpetrated by an Egyptian national, the Department of Homeland Security said that U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will be “ramping up the review of immigration records and will take immediate appropriate actions” to crack down on visa overstays.

Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Nepal and Cameroon will take place in August.

Undocumented persons who self-deport from the United States through the CBP Home App will receive forgiveness of any civil fines or penalties for failing to depart, the Department of Homeland Security said.

The Department of State resumed visa processing for new and returning students and exchange visitors (F, M and J nonimmigrants) but announced enhanced social media and online presence screening and vetting procedures. Consular posts may resume processing of expedited appointment requests and are directed to prioritize physicians applying for J visas and applicants studying at U.S. universities where international students constitute 15% or less of the total student body.

President Trump has reversed the pause he called for a week ago on deportation-related raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on worksites in the agricultural, hospitality and restaurant industries.

The three-day filing window to submit an H-2B Application for Temporary Employment Certification (Form ETA-9142B and appendices) requesting a work start date of October 1, 2025, will open on July 3, 2025, and close on July 5, 2025.

On June 27, 2025, in a case implicating President Trump’s Executive Order on birthright citizenship, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision limiting federal courts’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions blocking executive orders and broad national policies. The decision did not address the merits or constitutionality of President Trump’s Executive Order on birthright citizenship. The decision means that there will be continuing and evolving uncertainties, including legal challenges to the Executive Order in the federal courts.

The U.S. Supreme Court paused a lower court ruling to allow the Trump administration to deport people to third countries without the ability to argue that they would face torture. Specifically, a group of men being held at a military base in Djibouti will be sent to South Sudan while their case continues in court.

The Department of Homeland Security announced that it is revoking Employment Authorization Documents for certain people whose parole has been terminated. E-Verify and the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program have launched new Status Change Reports for employers to identify if any of their E-Verify cases were created with an EAD that has been revoked.

Hundreds of doctors who were expected to begin medical residencies at U.S. hospitals shortly are stuck in “visa limbo” because of delays, an inability to make J-1 visa appointments or additional vetting, despite the Department of State’s recent announcement that interviews could resume. Others have been unable to enter the United States due to the Trump administration’s travel (entry) ban on 19 countries.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued two simultaneous opinions on June 18, 2025, that, between them, offer additional guidance as to the appropriate federal appellate court into which parties must bring challenges to Environmental Protection Agency actions under the Clean Air Act.

On June 1, 2025, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued a final NPDES/SDS wastewater permit for 3M’s Cottage Grove Chemical Operations facility. Regarded as one of the most stringent permits in state history, it marks a significant regulatory milestone in the oversight of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in industrial wastewater.

On Friday, June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that the lower courts likely did not have the power to issue nationwide injunctions on the EO, asked the lower courts to reexamine their decisions and granted a partial stay of the nationwide injunctions.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a $9 billion federal universal service program which funds several telecommunications programs, reversing the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that held the program unconstitutional.

Minnesota’s 2025 legislative session and June 10 special session closed with a handful of new and amended employment laws of which employers should be aware. Here is a summary of significant changes impacting Minnesota workplaces.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has announced its intent to extend the deadline by which manufacturers who sell, offer for sale or distribute within Minnesota products that contain intentionally added per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) must submit information on those products to the MPCA Commissioner. 

On June 6, 2025, Judge Claudia Wilken granted final approval of the House settlement agreement. The NCAA and its major conferences agreed to pay nearly $2.8 billion in back damages over the next decade to athletes who competed in college athletics at any time from 2016 through the present day. 

On March 31, 2025, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed a decision by the Todd County Board of Commissioners that denied the request of Dairy Ridge LLC for a conditional use permit for its 75-acre dairy farm. 

On March 12, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that the agencies would “move quickly” to revise their matching regulatory definitions of “Waters of the United States” (or, WOTUS).

The Trump administration ordered the termination of Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, announced a ban on all foreign student visas for study at Harvard, and ordered foreign students currently studying at Harvard to transfer or lose their right to study in the United States. A district Court temporarily blocked the ban.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration can move forward, while legal proceedings continue, with revoking Temporary Protected Status for an estimated 350,000 Venezuelans in the United States who received TPS in 2023.

The Temporary Protected Status designation for the country expires on May 20, 2025, and the termination will take effect July 14, 2025. The decision affects an estimated 9,000 Afghans in the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security has extended Temporary Protected Status for South Sudan through November 3, 2025. The extension also automatically extends the validity of work permits previously issued under the TPS designation of South Sudan for six months.

On May 7, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security announced full implementation of REAL ID enforcement measures at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints nationwide. DHS said that 81% of travelers are already REAL ID compliant.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reinstated many Student and Exchange Visitor Information System records as of April 24, 2025 — not retroactively to the date of termination of the records, thus leaving a gap that could be construed as rendering the students out of status during that time, which could have severe consequences.

Raising free speech concerns after the Trump administration’s targeting of international students for participating in protests, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services posted a warning stating that “EVERYONE should be on notice.”

As Minnesota’s retail cannabis industry begins to take shape, businesses seeking to enter the market must navigate a complex regulatory framework.

On May 21, 2024, Minnesota passed the Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act. Broadly, the Act aims to decrease waste associated with packaging products by increasing rates of recycling, reuse and compost and by encouraging the use of post-consumer recycled content.

On June 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation enacting a travel ban for individuals from 19 countries from entering the United States. The proclamation takes effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Monday, June 9, 2025.

On May 29, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, No. 23-975, clarifying the scope of federal agencies’ environmental-review obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 

Minority investments in the healthcare industry are often a way for strategic investors (e.g., health systems or medtech companies) to gain early access to innovative technologies, deepen commercial relationships or influence product development without fully acquiring the company.

On January 27, 2025, the fintech company KuCoin pled guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, resulting in nearly $300 million in penalties and a two-year exit from the United States financial market.

Small banks must proactively plan for shareholder succession to maintain stability and independence, addressing liquidity needs, regulatory requirements, and emotional challenges that arise from ownership transitions.

Wire transfers, originally developed by Western Union in the 1870s, continue to function similarly today, though modern technology has improved security and controls — fraud still persists. A recent legal case, New York v. Citibank, N.A., challenges longstanding principles by arguing that the Electronic Fund Transfer Act applies to consumer wire transfers, shifting liability to banks and raising concerns about future regulatory interpretations.

On Wednesday, the United States Court of International Trade issued a significant opinion invalidating many new import tariffs that were issued by the Trump administration starting earlier this year.

On May 22, 2025, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency held a public hearing regarding its proposed “PFAS in Products: Reporting and Fees Rule.” During the public comment portion of the hearing, representatives from a variety of manufacturers who will be subject to the proposed Rule voiced a number of consistent concerns regarding the scope and timing of MPCA’s proposed requirements.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has recently issued a Request for Comments for Planned Amendments to Rules Governing Animal Feedlots.

Litigants and litigators alike will feel the impact of Cook v. Trimble, a recent Court of Appeals decision regarding Minnesota’s Uniform Public Expression Protection Act. As the first published opinion interpreting UPEPA, Cook will be a key resource for individuals and businesses defending defamation and privacy claims in Minnesota.

After the weekend talks, on May 12, 2025, the United States and China published the Joint Statement on U.S.-China Economic and Trade Meeting in Geneva. As a result, the U.S. government’s general tariff rate on Chinese goods will fall to 10% from 125%.

Following numerous lawsuits and court orders, DHS suddenly restored many foreign students’ SEVIS records that it had abruptly deleted, but uncertainty remained.

In a case challenging terminations of a group of more than 130 F-1 students’ Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records, a federal judge in Georgia granted a temporary restraining order on April 18, 2025. The order, effective immediately, directs the government to reinstate Plaintiffs’ student status and SEVIS authorization, retroactive to March 31, 2025.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 19,000 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the early second half of fiscal year 2025 with start dates from April 1 to May 14, 2025.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has begun issuing Requests for Evidence seeking home addresses for the purpose of collecting biometric data in H-1B and I-140 employment-based petitions, raising concerns.

Pursuant to a court order, parole termination notices sent to people in the United States from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela are stayed and therefore not currently in effect. No new requests for CHNV parole will be processed.

High demand and number use by India in the EB-5 unreserved visa categories, combined with increased Rest of World demand and number use, has made it necessary to further retrogress the India final action date to May 1, 2019.

By May 7, 2025, U.S. travelers’ documents must be REAL ID compliant to board domestic flights and access certain federal facilities.