2 Shootings, 10,000 Arrests: How Minnesota Became Epicentre Of Immigration Crackdown

Minnesota has become the focal point of US federal immigration enforcement following two fatal shootings in January and a massive enforcement push under Operation Metro Surge, which has brought thousands of federal agents into the state and triggered widespread protests and political backlash.

The killings of Renee Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis woman on January 7, and Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and US citizen on January 24, have intensified scrutiny of Donald Trump administration's immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities.

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Operation Metro Surge

Both shootings took place amid Operation Metro Surge, which DHS described as its largest interior immigration enforcement operation to date.

Operation Metro Surge was launched by DHS in December 2025, initially focusing on the Minneapolis-St Paul area before expanding statewide. DHS planned to deploy around 2,000 agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other units to carry out arrests linked to removal orders and immigration violations. DHS claimed agents had made more than 3,000 arrests since the operation began, including nearly 150 US citizens charged with assault or obstructing law enforcement during protests or enforcement actions.

ICE publicly escalated the operation on January 6, announcing on X that it planned to send 2,000 additional agents to the Twin Cities. "A 100% chance of ICE in the Twin Cities - our largest operation to date," the agency wrote.

ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons said the agency was "surging to Minneapolis to root out fraud, arrest perpetrators and remove criminal illegal aliens."

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According to The Guardian, the Department of Homeland Security's Operation Metro Surge in the Minneapolis-St Paul area far exceeds previous mobilisations. The federal government assigned around 3,000 federal immigration agents to Minnesota, calling it the largest enforcement operation it has ever carried out.

DHS has said its officers have arrested more than 2,500 people since November 29, while senior officials have claimed the total number of arrests in Minnesota over the past year exceeds 10,000.

In a post on January 19, US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem wrote, "Peace and public safety in Minneapolis! 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."

PEACE AND PUBLIC SAFETY IN MINNEAPOLIS! 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. In the…

— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) January 19, 2026

Aggressive Tactics 

Reports from residents and local officials describe aggressive and indiscriminate enforcement tactics. Armed and often masked agents have appeared at schools, daycares, churches and mosques, while residents say officers have stopped people at traffic lights or while walking to grocery stores, demanding proof of citizenship at gunpoint.

Local law enforcement officers have also raised concerns. The agents are not only targeting undocumented immigrants. The Guardian reported that those stopped included legal residents, visa holders, US citizens and tribal citizens.

In recent weeks, federal agents have also carried out forced home entries without judicial warrants. In one case, officers used a battering ram to break into the home of Garrison Gibson, a 38-year-old Liberian man, and arrested him. In another, agents forced their way into the home of ChongLy "Scott" Thao, a 56-year-old US citizen, and led him outside in his underwear in sub-freezing temperatures.

Minneapolis's 911 dispatch system has been overwhelmed by calls from residents encountering immigration enforcement. Police Chief Brian O'Hara said many callers reported injuries from chemical irritants and crowd-control weapons used by federal agents against immigrants, protesters and bystanders.

Political Fallout 

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, condemned the enforcement surge, calling it "a war that's being waged against Minnesota."

"You're seeing a ridiculous surge of apparently 2,000 people not coordinating with us, there for a show of cameras," Walz had told reporters in Minneapolis.

The operation has unfolded in a politically sensitive state that Donald Trump lost in the 2024 presidential election.

During a visit to Minneapolis, Vice President JD Vance sought to downplay tensions, saying the level of resistance seen in Minnesota was not being encountered elsewhere. 

"We're seeing this level of chaos only in Minneapolis," Vance had said. "Maybe the problem is unique to Minneapolis, and we believe that it is. It's a lack of cooperation between state and local law enforcement and federal law enforcement."

Minnesota has a population of more than 5 million people. According to the Migration Policy Institute (2023), about 100,000 undocumented immigrants live in the state.

It is also home to the largest Somali community in the United States, the majority of whom are US citizens. Trump has previously told Somali residents to "go back to where they came from" and described the community as "garbage."

The immigration crackdown began in December after some Somali immigrants were convicted in a major fraud case involving state welfare programmes.

(With inputs from agencies)