Winter storm warnings in northern Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Minnesota’s high‑profile immigration enforcement surge — what federal officials have referred to as “Operation Metro Surge” — 

At a news conference on Thursday, White House Border Czar Tom Homan said he has proposed, and President Trump has agreed, that the surge operation should conclude within the next week after more than two months of intensified activity that resulted in over 4,000 arrests across the state. 

Homan described the operation as having delivered “unprecedented levels of coordination” with local law enforcement, and he said a significant drawdown of federal agents is already underway, though immigration enforcement itself will continue.

Hundreds and hundreds of people are still detained

On the ground, the impact of the surge — and the announcement of its end — is far more complicated. Minnesota families and communities continue to feel its effects.

“Many of the detainees, hundreds and hundreds, are still before the courts, and they’re all over the country,” said Gloria Contreras Edin, an immigration attorney. “People were detained in Minnesota, but because of the lack of detention space, they were sent to other parts of the country. So they’re still waiting for their hearings, still waiting for their habeas petitions to be granted or denied. And their families are still without parents, without financial providers,” she said. 

Contreras Edin also noted that many people transferred to Texas were later released without identification, employment authorization or even basic personal documents.

“Unless a federal judge ordered the documents returned, my clients were released without their phones, IDs, credit cards or work authorization,” she said. “So imagine coming home not having an employment authorization document, not having a driver's license, you can't drive, you can't go to work — unless you renew all those things.” 

The surge’s end does not automatically resolve the hundreds of ongoing court cases and detentions. Hundreds of people remain in custody across the country awaiting hearings or habeas petitions filed to challenge their detentions. Families continue to face separation and uncertainty, and attorneys emphasize that many people who were legally present in the U.S. or had work authorization were still detained or transferred out of state.

Immigration attorneys and advocates have said the impact has been significant, particularly for families and children. Some parents reported that they avoided taking their children to school or left home as little as possible out of fear of detention even though they have legal status. Many with legal status were still swept up in the surge, disrupting their employment and financial stability.

Communities and attorneys alike are urging vigilance and continued advocacy, highlighting the long-term impact on children, families and those navigating the immigration court system.

Advocates also raised concerns about the state’s cooperation with ICE, specifically through 

, which allow local law enforcement to assist federal immigration authorities. Erika Zurawski, co-founder of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), called the agreements “quiet violence” and criticized the state government for enabling ICE operations to continue out of public view.

“What the governor signed on to is quiet violence. The governor literally said, ‘Okay, Trump, we’re not going to let you sensationalize immigration enforcement, because it’s bad for optics. What we want to do is we want to quell public protest, and we want to have agents kidnap people more quietly,’” Zurawski said.

She said the agreements undermine due process and treat all immigrants as guilty before a court hearing.

“I would really like people to put their guard on higher alert. I don't think there should be any let-down of a guard right now,” Zurawski added. 

Gov. Walz later addressed questions about Homan's announcement and said nothing has changed in terms of how the state handles requests from ICE to turn over immigrants who have served prison sentences. 

Walz also urged Minnesotans to stay alert for continued ICE activity.

“My word to Minnesota is, again, we're certainly not going to celebrate something that should have never happened,” Walz said. “But I will say this, please — at this point in time — stay hyper-vigilant.” 

NewsPartners

Homepage

Immigration enforcement in Minnesota

Sarah Thamer

Author

After the announcement Thursday of the end of the surge of federal law enforcement agents in Minnesota, advocates and lawyers say communities remain on edge.

ICE reportedly on the way out, but some are still wary

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox