Operation Metro Surge

Extracted Attributes

• Scope

  Statewide (Minnesota), initially focused on Twin Cities

• Casualties

  3 deaths (2 civilian observers, 1 detainee)

• Lead Agency

  Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

• Arrest Count

  3,000 individuals (as of January 19, 2026)

• Legal Violations

  96 court orders violated (as of January 28, 2026)

• Executing Agencies

  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

Timeline

• Operation Metro Surge is launched by DHS in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2025-12-01

• DHS officially announces the operation as the largest ever, deploying 2,000 agents to the region. (Source: Web Search)

  2026-01-06

• Thousands of protesters assemble at Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis to oppose ICE activity. (Source: Web Search)

  2026-01-10

• DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announces that 3,000 arrests have been made during the operation. (Source: Web Search)

  2026-01-19

• Federal subpoenas are issued to Governor Walz and Mayors Frey and Her regarding alleged obstruction. (Source: Web Search)

  2026-01-20

• Judge Patrick Schiltz rules that ICE violated at least 96 court orders in Minnesota since the beginning of the year. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2026-01-28

Operation Metro Surge

Operation Metro Surge is an ongoing operation by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection with the stated purpose of apprehending undocumented immigrants and deporting them. Beginning in December 2025, it initially targeted the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul), and later expanded to all of Minnesota. The Department of Homeland Security called it "the largest immigration enforcement operation ever carried out". The surge has been characterized by an escalation in the severity and brutality of ICE tactics, harassment, and threats against observers. It has involved the detention of US citizens and the arrest of 3,000 people. Federal agents killed two civilian observers during the operation: Renée Good and Alex Pretti, who were both US citizens. One person detained by ICE during the operation has died while in custody. The operation has disrupted the economy and civil society of Minnesota, with schools transitioning to remote learning and immigration arrests disrupting everyday business activities. Thousands in Minneapolis have protested the ICE activity. The governor and attorney general of Minnesota have challenged the operation, stating that its primary purpose is "retribution" instead of immigration enforcement. On January 28, 2026, Minnesota chief US District judge Patrick Schiltz found that ICE violated at least 96 court orders in Minnesota since January 1, 2026 alone.

Web Search Results

• Operation Metro Surge - Wikipedia

  On January 6, DHS announced what it called the largest immigration enforcement operation ever carried out, sending 2,000 agents to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The surge included Homeland Security Investigations officers focused on the 2020s Minnesota fraud scandals, as the White House announced a multiagency effort to investigate these scandals. In addition, Donald Trump announced an effort to deport people of Somali descent in Minnesota involved in fraudulent activity, describing them as "garbage". Saint Paul City Council member Molly Coleman described the first day of the action as "unlike any other day we've experienced". [...] On January 10, protests continued with thousands assembling at Powderhorn Park "Powderhorn Park (urban park)"). In the evening, Reuters and MS NOW estimated that number as "tens of thousands." [...] of a United States Department of Justice investigation of whether Walz and Frey obstructed federal immigration law enforcement through public statements. On January 20, six subpoenas were sent to the offices of Walz, Ellison, Frey, Saint Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, and local government officials in Ramsey County and Hennepin County.

• What is Operation Metro Surge? What to know about DHS ...

  ## Launched in December 2025, Operation Metro Surge is DHS's major immigration enforcement initiative in Minnesota. Published on: Jan 26, 2026 3:47 PM IST By Prakriti Deb Share via Copy link Operation Metro Surge is the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) major interior immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota. It involves agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Launched in December 2025, the operation initially focused on the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area before expanding across the state. [...] Senior officials from ICE and CBP, who are overseeing Operation Metro Surge, addressed the media on Friday morning, per local time, at the Whipple Federal Building, where they outlined ongoing enforcement activity in Minnesota, according to KSTP. During the briefing, immigration authorities did not provide updated figures on the total number of people taken into custody. ## Operation Metro Surge Operation Metro Surge was initiated by DHS as a coordinated interior enforcement effort aimed at identifying individuals subject to removal under US immigration law. The operation brings together ICE and CBP agents as part of a large-scale federal deployment across Minnesota. [...] KSTP questioned Marcos Charles, ICE’s executive assistant director of enforcement and removal operations, about who is being detained during the surge. Charles said: “We operate through intelligence and targeted enforcement. We are looking for certain individuals. As we are looking for these individuals, if there is somebody that is illegally in the country and amenable to removal from this country, we will arrest them.” ## Also Read: Who is Peggy Flanagan? Minnesota Lt. Governor accused of involvement in Signal chat for ‘violent protests’ He added: “Every day that they are here, they are here illegally in the United States. We are not targeting those individuals, but if we come across those individuals in the course of our duties, we will arrest them.”

• 2025–26 Minnesota ICE Deployment | Operation Metro Surge ...

  Melissa Petruzzello [...] and prisons would allow ICE “to draw down on the number of people we have here.” He also called on local residents to end the “hateful rhetoric.” [...] Pretti. Two agents fired their guns in Pretti’s death, according to a report later prepared for Congress.

• ACLU Sues Federal Government to End ICE, CBP's Practice of ...

  The Trump administration has been clear in its targeting of the Somali and Latino communities through Operation Metro Surge. President Trump called people from Somalia “garbage,” said “we don’t want them in our country,” and told them to “go back to where they came from.” Following Trump's comments, ICE and CBP agents have indiscriminately arrested — without warrants or probable cause — Minnesotans solely because the agents perceived them to be Somali or Latino. In their lawsuit, the three Minnesotans challenge the administration’s policy of racially profiling, unlawfully seizing, and unlawfully arresting,people without a warrant and without probable cause. This is a violation of Minnesotans’ constitutional rights to equal protection and against unreasonable seizures. [...] “The government can’t stop and arrest people based on the color of their skin, or arrest people with no probable cause,” said Kate Huddleston, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. “These kinds of police-state tactics are contrary to the basic principles of liberty and equality that remain a bedrock of our legal system and our country.” “The massive presence of ICE agents as part of Operation Metro Surge has disrupted civic life in the Twin Cities. Minnesotans are at risk of being stopped by ICE while going to work or shopping for groceries,” said Greene Espel attorney Kshithij Shrinath. “We will continue to stand with our community and the rule of law.” [...] 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 United States MINNEAPOLIS — The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Minnesota, Covington & Burling LLP, Greene Espel PLLP, and Robins Kaplan LLP filed a class-action lawsuit today against the Trump administration on behalf of three community members — and a class of similarly situated people — whose constitutional rights were violated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection(CBP), and other federal agents. Over the past six weeks, the Trump administration has increased its deployment of federal forces by the thousands. Masked federal agents in military gear have ignored basic human rights in their enforcement activity against Minnesotans, especially targeting Somali and Latino communities.

• ICE Continues to Remove the Worst of the Worst from Minneapolis ...

  # ICE Continues to Remove the Worst of the Worst from Minneapolis Streets as DHS Law Enforcement Marks 3,000 Arrests During Operation Metro Surge Release Date: January 19, 2026 WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement and information regarding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of dangerous criminal illegal aliens in Minneapolis, Minnesota over the weekend including murderers, rapists, gang members, and perpetrators of fraud. [...] “We have arrested over 10,000 criminal illegal aliens who were killing Americans, hurting children and reigning terror in Minneapolis because Tim Walz and Jacob Frey refuse to protect their own people and instead protect criminals,”said Secretary Kristi Noem. “In the last 6 weeks, our brave DHS law enforcement have arrested 3,000 criminal illegal aliens including vicious murderers, rapists, child pedophiles, and incredibly dangerous individuals.A huge victory for public safety.” This weekend, ICE arrested dangerous criminals during Operation Metro Surge, including: Image Yang Koua Moua, a criminal illegal alien from Laos, with convictions for homicide and robbery.Moua is an admitted“Oriental Lo” gang memberand was issued a final order of removal in 2013. Image [...] An official website of the United States government Here’s how you know Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock () or means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Countdown to America's 250th Anniversary! ### info 2026 winter storm resources: One-stop shop for information, resources and tips on how to stay safe during and after the winter storm. Breadcrumb 1. Home 2. News 3. Press Releases 4. ICE Continues to Remove the Worst of the Worst from Minneapolis Streets as DHS Law Enforcement Marks 3,000 Arrests During Operation Metro Surge

• Country

  United States

• Instance Of

  Q1707496