Federal officials announced Thursday that Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement initiative in Minnesota, is concluding after several weeks of activity that resulted in more than 4,000 arrests.
Border Czar Tom Homan, who was dispatched to Minnesota last month to oversee and restructure operations, said the surge led to thousands of apprehensions. However, he noted that he could not definitively state how many of those arrested were identified as public safety threats versus individuals without legal immigration status.
The operation followed a period of heightened tensions in the state, including the shooting deaths of two anti-ICE agitators by federal agents. In response, additional federal personnel were deployed to revamp enforcement efforts.
A reduced federal presence will remain in Minnesota. According to Homan, some agents will continue to provide security and investigate allegations of welfare fraud.
“Federal government personnel assigned to conduct criminal investigations into the agitators, as well as the personnel assigned here for the fraud investigations, will remain in place until their work is done,” Homan said during a press conference Thursday morning in Minneapolis.
Homan emphasized that the conclusion of the surge does not signal a broader shift in federal immigration enforcement priorities.
“For those that say we are backing down from immigration enforcement or the promise of mass deportations, you are simply wrong… prioritizing public safety threats and national security threats doesn’t mean we’re forgetting about everybody else,” Homan said.
Earlier this month, Homan announced that he had secured what he described as “unprecedented” cooperation from local officials, allowing approximately 700 agents to be reassigned out of Minnesota. He cited cooperation from county jails as a key factor, stating that facilities began notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when enforcement targets were in custody so individuals could be detained while in jail rather than apprehended in public settings.
Homan said he did not encounter any county jail in Minnesota that refused to work with ICE during the operation.
In addition to arrests, Homan reported that ICE identified and located 3,364 unaccompanied immigrant children in the state who had previously illegally entered the country.
“ICE here in this state have located 3,364 missing unaccompanied alien children — children that the last Administration lost and weren’t even looking for,” Homan said.
Addressing public concerns about enforcement tactics, Homan rejected reports that ICE agents conducted arrests inside hospitals, churches, or similar locations. He added, however, that if an individual posed a significant security threat, such locations would not be categorically excluded from enforcement action.
“As result of this surge operation, we have to greatly reduced the number of targets for enforcement action, and many criminal aliens have been arrested and taken off the streets, including murderers, sex offenders, national security threats, gang members, and other violent criminals,” Homan said.
Operation Metro Surge drew public attention and debate during its implementation, with supporters citing public safety goals and critics raising concerns about enforcement methods and community impact. With the surge now concluded, federal officials say immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota will continue under standard operations.
