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Federal agents arrested more than 3,700 Minnesota residents during the federal government’s surge into the state this winter, according to new data released through a federal lawsuit. 

It’s the most nuanced data the federal government has released since the surge and includes the location where at least 3,789 people were arrested, their countries of origin and whether they have a criminal history. The data was released by the 

 via a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. 

The data itself is likely incomplete. It included a number of duplicate arrests, which MPR News and APM Reports accounted for in its analysis. But because federal officials often failed to provide all the information for each arrest, it’s likely an undercount. 

Federal officials said in public statements during the surge that they targeted the “worst of the worst.” Agency officials in early February 

agents had made more than 4,000 arrests during what they called Operation Metro Surge, including “murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members and terrorists.” 

But the new data shows fewer than one-quarter of those arrested had a criminal conviction on their record. A little more than 13 percent of those arrested had pending criminal charges.

The vast majority were arrested in Minnesota for civil immigration violations. Some of those arrested with criminal histories or pending criminal charges were taken directly from jails, rather than through targeted enforcement actions, according to the data. 

Although the released data doesn’t identify the exact charges against each individual, federal agencies did engage in high-profile arrests of defendants who had not yet been convicted during the surge, 

During Operation Metro Surge, federal agents arrested an average of about 33 people a day, according to an initial MPR News and APM Reports analysis. About 30 of those arrested were 16 or younger. One arrest involved a child who was just 2 or 3 years old. A handful were over 70 years old. 

Arrests surged in the first few days after ICE agent Jonathan Ross killed Renee Macklin Good on Jan. 7 in south Minneapolis, according to the data. Administration officials, including then-U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, vowed to send hundreds more federal agents to the region after Good’s killing. 

But then — despite more agents on the ground — arrests in the region appeared to decline in mid-January, according to the data. After federal agents killed Alex Pretti on Jan. 24, arrests dipped, briefly rose, then largely declined until federal officials announced the end of Operation Metro Surge in mid-February. By then, arrests on most days dwindled to fewer than a dozen. 

Most of those arrested between Dec. 1 and March 10 came from Latin American countries. More than one-quarter of the arrestees came from Ecuador. Many of those arrested also came from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. 

Although President Donald Trump publicly castigated Somali Americans, calling them “garbage,” the vast majority of Somali Americans in Minnesota are American citizens. Just 106 people from Somalia were arrested during the operation. 

Federal agents were plagued with accusations of racial discrimination while in the Twin Cities.

The data shows about 35 percent of federal arrests during this period were "collateral" rather than targeted. That fits with anecdotal accounts of residents swept up by roving groups of federal agents at bus stops or on public sidewalks throughout the surge.

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Immigration enforcement in Minnesota

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Kate Martin

The new data shows fewer than one-quarter of those arrested by immigration agents in Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge had a criminal conviction on their record. A little more than 13 percent of those arrested had pending criminal charges.

Data shows three-quarters of ICE arrestees in Minnesota had no criminal record

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