In December 2025, the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Metro Surge in the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area—the largest immigration enforcement operation in American history. What was billed as a targeted effort to remove dangerous criminals became a sweeping militarized occupation that violated constitutional rights, defied the courts, and left two American citizens dead.
The facts of what happened in Minnesota are a warning to every community in America. Immigrants and citizens alike saw their most fundamental rights trampled. Here is what we know:
The Minnesota ICE Surge: A Record of Abuse
Mass Arrests Without Criminal Basis
More than 4,030 people were arrested during Operation Metro Surge between December 2025 and mid-March 2026. Data obtained through a FOIA request revealed that two-thirds of those arrested—63 percent, or approximately 2,532 individuals—had no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. The administration's claim that the operation targeted "the worst of the worst" was a lie.
The Killing of Renée Good
On January 7, 2026, ICE agents shot and killed Renée Good, a 37-year-old American citizen and mother of young children, during enforcement operations in South Minneapolis. Good was a U.S. citizen. Her death galvanized protests across the state and prompted Rep. Angie Craig to introduce articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
The Killing of Alex Pretti
On January 24, 2026, two Customs and Border Protection officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old American citizen and VA intensive care nurse, in Minneapolis. Pretti had been filming agents and intervened when an officer pushed a woman to the ground. He was pepper sprayed, wrestled down by approximately six federal agents, and then shot multiple times. Pretti was unarmed.
96 Court Orders Violated
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz found that ICE violated at least 96 court orders in Minnesota in January 2026 alone. Judge Schiltz stated: "ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence." The chief judge threatened criminal contempt proceedings to compel compliance.
Arrest and Detention of U.S. Citizens
Multiple American citizens were unlawfully detained during the operation. In one case, a Hmong American citizen was arrested after ICE agents forced entry into his home without a warrant. In another, a 55-year-old Minneapolis resident and U.S. citizen was tackled, handcuffed, and held in a federal cell for nearly five hours simply for observing an enforcement action from a public street. She was released without charges.
Enforcement at Sensitive Locations
ICE agents detained a community food shelf volunteer at the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center in St. Paul—a city-owned property where immigration enforcement was explicitly prohibited under a mayoral directive. Reports also emerged of enforcement near churches and schools, spreading fear through immigrant communities.
Armed Agents Deny Congressional Oversight
When Representatives Angie Craig, Ilhan Omar, and Kelly Morrison attempted to conduct a congressional oversight visit of the ICE detention facility at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis following Renée Good's killing, they were met by armed ICE agents and denied entry to the facility.
ICE Agent Charged with Felony Assault
In April 2026, Minnesota prosecutors charged ICE agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. with two counts of felony second-degree assault after he allegedly pointed a firearm at the heads of two civilians in a vehicle during the surge. This was the first criminal charge brought against a federal agent for conduct during Operation Metro Surge.
Massive Deployment with Minimal Accountability
Approximately 2,000 federal agents were deployed to the Twin Cities metro area. The operation was supported by $75 billion in funding that Congress provided to ICE through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act—money that sits outside the normal appropriations process and is available through 2029, with virtually no oversight provisions.
This Cannot Stand.
What happened in Minnesota was not an aberration—it was a test run. If this administration faces no consequences for deploying a militarized force that killed American citizens, defied the courts, and trampled constitutional rights, it will happen again. In your state. In your community. To your neighbors.
The time to act is now. Call your representatives. Demand accountability. Stand with the communities under attack.