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PULSE POINTS
❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that federal law enforcement officials have arrested over 4,000 illegal immigrants in Minnesota as part of Operation Metro Surge.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: DHS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, local and state officials, and the Trump administration, including Border Czar Tom Homan.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Operation Metro Surge began in late 2025 and has focused on the Twin Cities and Minnesota more broadly.
💬KEY QUOTE: “We will not back down from our mission to remove criminal illegal aliens from American neighborhoods.” – DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin
🎯IMPACT: Over 4,000 illegal immigrants, including violent offenders, have been apprehended ahead of a planned drawdown of federal law enforcement.
IN FULL
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Wednesday that federal law enforcement has arrested more than 4,000 illegal immigrants in Minnesota since the launch of Operation Metro Surge in late 2025, part of the Trump administration’s broader push to expand interior immigration enforcement. The operation, which is now drawing down, has focused on the Twin Cities and other parts of the state, with DHS saying it prioritizes migrants with serious criminal histories.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt praised the effort, stating, “President Trump’s commonsense immigration enforcement policies are delivering the public safety results the American people demanded, with more than 4,000 dangerous criminal illegal aliens already arrested in Minnesota since Operation Metro began.” She added, “Democrats opened our borders and allowed vicious criminals, including murderers, rapists, gang members, and terrorists, to invade our communities. President Trump is reversing that horrific damage and removing these threats from our country.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “Despite coordinated attacks of violence against our law enforcement, our officers have made more than 4,000 arrests of illegal aliens including murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists in Minnesota since Operation Metro Surge began.”
Federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota intensified in December 2025 after DHS announced a series of large-scale ICE operations in the state, amid widespread coverage of endemic Somali fraud in the state. Those actions resulted in hundreds of arrests, including about 500 illegal immigrants taken into custody in a single wave, according to DHS.
The expanded federal presence sparked far-left protests backed by Governor Tim Walz (D) and other state and local officials. Demonstrations disrupted ICE operations and even church services, leading to two deadly confrontations between protesters and federal agents.
Border Czar Tom Homan announced this week that the federal footprint in the Twin Cities will be reduced, with about 700 officers set to leave the area. He said the drawdown reflects increased cooperation from local jurisdictions. “We currently have an unprecedented number of counties communicating with us now and allowing ICE to take custody of illegal aliens before they hit the streets,” Homan said, adding that the shift reduces the need for large-scale community enforcement actions.
Image by Chad Davis.
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