The fallout of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent presence in Minnesota continues to cause locals to mobilize.
A Feb. 21 benefit concert at Target Center in Minneapolis raised more than $600,000 for The Advocates for Human Rights, according to reports, while Rep. Ilhan Omar, (D-MN), invited affected residents to attend Tuesday's State of the Union address. Omar and President Donald Trump engaged in a heated back-and-forth during the joint address to Congress.
Churches and community centers served as organizing hubs between Feb. 21-24 as volunteers expanded legal aid and emergency assistance even as ICE began pulling agents out of the state.
Federal officials announced Feb. 12 in Minneapolis that Operation Metro Surge—an immigration enforcement effort led by ICE—would begin drawing down after what border czar Tom Homan said was more than 4,000 statewide arrests. The high-profile operation became a test of the administration’s interior enforcement strategy in a Democratic-led state.
Homan said the effort made Minnesota “less of a sanctuary state for criminals” and confirmed agents would redeploy nationwide as part of President Donald Trump’s broader deportation strategy. The crackdown sparked protests, court challenges and intensified scrutiny of ICE tactics and state-federal coordination.
Military.com reached out for comment to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, the Department of Justice and the governor’s office.
Fundraising Frenzy After ICE Sweep
Organizers pivoted quickly after the Feb. 12 drawdown announcement, shifting from protest response to sustained support.
The Target Center concert haul raised big money for legal defense, rent assistance and emergency aid for families navigating detention hearings and potential deportation. Proceeds will also support trauma counseling for children whose parents were arrested during the operation.
Faith groups and neighborhood coalitions expanded food distribution and know-your-rights workshops across Minneapolis and St. Paul. Support networks remained active as immigration court calendars continued to fill.
Omar invited four Minnesotans affected by the operation to attend the State of the Union, saying their presence would spotlight what she described as “lasting trauma” in immigrant neighborhoods following weeks of enforcement activity.
White House Stands Firm
The White House framed the Minnesota drawdown not as a retreat but as proof the strategy is working.
Administration officials said Operation Metro Surge reflected Trump’s pledge to prioritize what he has described as the “worst-of-the-worst” offenders while expanding deportations nationwide.
“The president’s entire team, including border czar Tom Homan and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, are on the same page when it comes to implementing his agenda,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Military.com. “President Trump is keeping his promise to carry out the largest mass deportation operation in history.”
Jackson added that anyone in the country illegally remains eligible for deportation, signaling that Minnesota’s drawdown does not represent a policy shift.
Homan told reporters Feb. 12 in Minneapolis that ICE arrested more than 200 people for alleged violations of 18 U.S.C. 111, the federal statute that criminalizes assaulting, resisting or impeding officers. ICE authority largely flows from the Immigration and Nationality Act and Title 8, and that federal immigration officers can also arrest for federal offenses committed in their presence, including obstruction or assault on a federal officer.
He said quick response force deployments “dropped dramatically” as protest activity declined and local law enforcement cooperation increased.
Homan did not provide a breakdown of how many involved criminal convictions versus civil immigration violations were involved in those 4,000 arrests he mentioned.
Minnesota Lawmakers Demand ICE Overhaul
Oversight calls intensified after federal officials confirmed ICE would withdraw personnel from Minnesota.
Democratic leaders argued the operation left unresolved questions about use of force, coordination failures, and the broader impact on immigrant communities.
“Minnesotans stood together, stared down ICE, and never blinked,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said in a Feb. 12 statement. “ICE withdrawing from Minnesota is just the beginning."
We need accountability for the lives lost and the extraordinary abuses of power at the hands of ICE agents, and we must see a complete overhaul of the agency.
Minnesota leaders had already moved into court earlier in the operation. A state lawsuit that called the federal surge an unconstitutional “federal invasion” and sought to block the deployment of more than 2,000 federal agents into the Twin Cities after a fatal shooting ignited protests. The filing alleged racial profiling, warrantless arrests and widespread fear, according to that reporting.
Local law enforcement officials also described limited coordination with federal authorities during the surge.
“Apart from recent meetings with border czar Holman, there was little to no coordination,” Minneapolis Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Garrett Parten said Feb. 13.
Parten said MPD responded to reported property damage and threats to physical safety during protest activity but did not participate in federal immigration enforcement. He directed requests for protest-related arrest totals to the department’s records unit and noted that multiple agencies operated independently within the city during the surge.
The contrasting accounts underscore a noticeable divide between federal officials who described the operation as a public safety success, and local leaders who believe the consequences continue to ripple through Minnesota communities.
