DemDaily: The Might of Minnesotans

March 11, 2026

The embattled but defiant people of Minnesota, the Midwest battleground state that has become the unintended epicenter of some of the most significant civil rights events of the last decade, have triumphed over yet another traumatic assault -- this time by their own federal government.

The nearly three-month unconstitutional attack on the Twin Cities and communities statewide by Trump's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) witnessed thousands of arrests, detentions, deportations, beatings, and the fatal shootings of at least two American citizens.

"Operation Metro Surge," born out of Trump's 2024 campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration, was a belligerent operation by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) under DHS, with the ostensible mission of apprehending undocumented immigrants and deporting them.

"What Minnesota endured...was not law enforcement. It was a militarized campaign of fear that treated immigrants as criminals and weaponized the federal government against our own residents...crafted to unleash fear in our streets...It exposed just how far [ICE] is willing to go to intimidate Black, brown and immigrant communities." - Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (CD-5, Minneapolis)

On February 12, White House “Border Czar” Tom Homan announced that DHS was phasing out its army of federal agents in Minnesota, concluding the "largest immigration enforcement deployment in US history." The "successful" operation resulted in over 4,000 arrests, Homan declared. “The surge is leaving Minnesota safer.”

Trump has deployed federal forces to other major Democratic "sanctuary" cities in similar enforcement actions, including New York, Chicago, Portland, New Orleans, Charlotte, and Washington -- each with its own city-centric name (Chicago, for example, was "Operation Midway Blitz"). His first target, however, was Minneapolis-St. Paul -- home to the nation's largest Somali immigrant community of some 84,000 -- the vast majority of whom are citizens or legal permanent residents.

Timeline
DHS launched the operation December 1, after weeks of escalating xenophobic rhetoric by President Trump, who falsely claimed the Somali "pirate" community was responsible for a billion-dollar welfare fraud scheme, calling them "garbage" on national television. By January 1, approximately 3,000 ICE and CBP agents had descended on the North Star State.

A battle-tested Minneapolis -- site of the 2020 murder of George Floyd, a black man killed during an arrest at the hands of a white police officer, which set off the largest civil rights uprising since the 1968 death of Martin Luther King Jr. -- was prepared.

Agents conducted racially profiled "broad sweeps" of immigrant communities, arresting whole groups of individuals -- at immigration check-ins, grocery stores, restaurants, parking lots, schools, construction sites, and other workplaces -- unlawfully detaining legal immigrants if they were unable to produce proof of legal residency.

In response, community members, businesses, and organizations mobilized in solidarity to support and protect their neighbors -- some at great personal risk. Churches, schools, coffee shops and stores, including a Minneapolis sex toy shop, became pop-up collection centers for food and other necessities distributed to immigrants sheltering at home. A network of doctors tends to the sick house by house.

Car horns and whistles became the refrain in parts of the Twin Cities, alerting immigrants to lock their doors and calling on citizens to come out and film when ICE was active. Scores of arrests were documented by onlookers, journalists and activists committed to observing and disrupting ICE operations -- many of whom also were arrested.

Tensions escalated with increased protests across the state and the severity of ICE's tactics, harassment, and threats against observers -- pointing guns at civilians, deploying chemical irritants, smashing car windows and wrestling people to the ground. Hundreds of injury complaints are tied to pepper spray, tear gas and "less lethal munitions."

A January 27-30 NPR/PBS News/Marist survey found that 65% of American adults feel ICE's recent operations have "gone too far," compared to 22% who describe ICE actions as "about right" and 12% who say that ICE has "not gone far enough" (MOE +/- 2.9%).

December 12: DHS announces the arrest of 400 alleged " illegal aliens," including "pedophiles, rapists, and violent thugs," but only releases the names of 10 individuals.

The federal government announces the January 5 deployment of 2,000 additional agents to Minnesota, bringing the total to over 3,000.

On January 7, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shoots and kills 37-year-old poet and mother of three Renée Good, an unarmed bystander, during an operation in south Minneapolis. The murder, which took place before a crowd of people and is recorded, sparks immediate nationwide outrage.

Within a week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota experiences an unprecedented mass exodus of career federal prosecutors -- in protest of the DOJ's refusal to open a criminal civil rights investigation into Ross. Top DOJ officials reportedly pressure prosecutors to launch a criminal investigation into Good's widow, Becca, instead. As of late February 2026, at least 31 out of 64 lawyers had quit or retired since the start of the second Trump administration.

Ross is placed on standard administrative leave following the shooting and taken to a secure, undisclosed location for his safety.

The state agency tasked with investigating Good's killing, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, was informed by the US Attorney's Office the day after the shooting that "the investigation would now be led solely by the FBI," and revoked the agency's access to all evidence, including dashcam footage and ballistics. related to the shooting.

January 9: Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison immediately announce their own independent investigation of Good's killing. As the federal government refuses to hand over evidence, they call on the public to submit testimony and video to a secure portal.

January 12: The State of Minnesota, along with Minneapolis and St. Paul, files a lawsuit against the Trump administration to cease the operation as an unconstitutional violation of Minnesota's sovereignty.

In filing the lawsuit, Ellison said, “People are being racially profiled, harassed, terrorized, and assaulted. Schools have gone into lockdown. Businesses have been forced to close. Minnesota police are spending countless hours dealing with the chaos ICE is causing."

January 14: A second shooting occurs as an ICE agent wounds Julio Sosa-Celis in north Minneapolis.

January 17: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D), who decries the operation's true purpose as "retribution" by Trump for losing the state to Kamala Harris by just over 4% in 2024, mobilizes the state National Guard in support of local law enforcement. Walz calls the ICE surge "organized brutality."

January 18: Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche, describing the shooting of Renee Good as an act of self-defense, announced DOJ will not open a criminal investigation or pursue charges against ICE agent Ross.

In another attempt at justification, Trump falsely claims that Good “ran over” the agent and, "at a minimum, was very disrespectful to law enforcement." Vice President JD Vance goes further, arguing that Ross has “absolute immunity” under the Constitution's Supremacy Clause, which protects federal officials from state criminal prosecution if they are reasonably carrying out their duties.

AG Ellison accuses the Trump administration of turning immigration enforcement into "politics and retribution," suggesting his state is at the center of a collision between politics and constitutional rights.

On January 23, an estimated 50,000 people brave subzero temperatures to gather in downtown Minneapolis for “ICE Out of Minnesota: Day of Truth & Freedom.” Over 700 businesses close their doors in support of the protest and general strike, with demonstrations held across the state. At the Minneapolis Airport, 100 clergy members are arrested holding a protest calling on US airlines to refuse to transport detainees arrested by ICE.

“They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation. These patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it’s not just about resistance -- standing with our neighbors is deeply American.” - Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey

Less than 24 hours later, on Saturday, January 24, CBP agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, 37, a US citizen and ICU nurse for the Department of Veterans Affairs, during a protest. The shooting, also recorded before a crowd, draws more rational outcry and protests over the shocking violation of Minneapolitans' civil rights and civil liberties.

The two Border agents involved in Pretti's murder, Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez, are placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the DOJ's Civil Rights Division and a parallel state investigation promised by Governor Walz.

January 28: Minnesota Chief US District Judge Patrick Schiltz finds that ICE has violated at least 96 court orders in Minnesota since January 1, 2026, saying, "ICE is not a law unto itself."

February 12: In the wake of the violence and national backlash to the ICE operation, which had become a major political distraction for the president, the administration reverses itself, with Homan announcing a formal phase-out of the operation. Reports indicate approximately 400 federal agents remain in Minnesota.

February 19: A federal judge found a DOJ lawyer in contempt in another Minnesota immigration case, ordered the lawyer to pay $500 a day until the administration complied with her orders.

February 23: For the second time, a Minnesota federal judge issued a contempt finding over the US government's violation of immigration court orders, and on March 3, a judge warned federal attorneys that they were in danger of criminal contempt charges and imprisonment for continued violations of court orders.

March 3: Ellison and Moriarty announce that the Hennepin County Attorney's office is pursuing potential criminal charges against federal immigration authorities for at least 17 incidents in which they are accused of violating the law.

March 5: Kristi Noem steps down as Secretary of Homeland Security

According to city data, Operation Metro Surge cost Minneapolis more than $200 million in the month of January alone. According to the city's Emergency Operations Center's preliminary impact assessment, local businesses lost $81 billion in revenue, workers lost $47 million in wages, and hotels lost $4.7 million due to cancellations. 76,200 people experience food insecurity, including over 8,700 school-aged children, and mental health services providers reported a 50% reduction in client contact. Police overtime was calculated at $5 million for the month.

In the aftermath, state and local officials say the devastation of Operation Metro Surge inflicted long-term damage on Minnesota’s economy and immigrant community. City of Minneapolis Emergency Management Director Rachel Sayre said, "The impacts we are seeing as a city will be felt for decades, even generations to come.

“It’s going to be a long road,” said Governor Walz at a news conference. “Minnesotans are decent, caring, loving neighbors and they’re also some of the toughest people you’ll find. And we’re in this as long as it takes.”

DemList will keep you informed.

DemList
Connecting You to The Party
Connecting You to Each Other

Kimberly Scott
Publisher

SignUp for the Daily updates on policy, politics and the players
Follow DemList on Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
Help Demlist now with $15, $25 or $50 HERE!

Washington Post, News From The States, New York Times, NCSL, NBC News, Minnesota Farmer, Reuters, The Guardian, NewsSky, MPR, BBC, CBS

The DemDaily has been publishing on a modified schedule while our Publisher recovers from hand surgeries. We will return to the full week schedule March 16!