Up to 2,000 federal agents have flooded Minnesota’s Twin Cities in a 30‑day immigration “surge,” turning Minneapolis into the front line of Trump’s promised crackdown on fraud, illegal immigration, and lawless sanctuary politics.
Story Snapshot
- DHS is conducting its largest-ever single-city immigration operation, sending about 2,000 agents to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area for a 30‑day surge.
- The crackdown is tied to years of massive fraud involving federal nutrition, housing, and childcare programs, with more than 90 people charged and over 60 convicted.
- An ICE officer fatally shot a 37-year-old woman during a traffic stop, sparking protests and fierce attacks on federal agents from Minnesota’s Democratic leaders.
- The surge exposes a deep clash between Trump’s enforcement-first agenda and blue-state politicians who have long resisted serious immigration and fraud controls.
Trump’s Largest Immigration Surge Lands in the Twin Cities
Federal officials have launched what they describe as the largest immigration enforcement operation in Department of Homeland Security history, concentrating roughly 2,000 agents and officers in the Minneapolis–St. Paul region for an intensive 30‑day surge. The deployment includes teams from ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, Homeland Security Investigations, Border Patrol, and other DHS units. The stated mission blends traditional immigration arrests with a broader push against fraud, human smuggling, and unlawful employment tied to federal benefit programs.
The Trump administration’s decision to focus this unprecedented federal manpower on Minnesota is not random. Over the last several years, prosecutors there have filed more than 90 fraud cases tied to programs like child nutrition, housing stabilization, and childcare assistance, securing over 60 convictions. Those cases, including the notorious Feeding Our Future scandal, revealed how loosely monitored federal dollars can be siphoned off when local officials fail to protect taxpayers and enforce basic accountability standards.
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVHwIJ3k_no
Fraud, Somali Diaspora, and Years of Lax Oversight
Minnesota’s Twin Cities now host one of the largest Somali diaspora communities in America, the result of decades of refugee resettlement policy. In that environment, federal investigators say they uncovered sprawling schemes that exploited nutrition and social-service programs, with alleged losses rising into the billions. While defendants have come from diverse backgrounds, allegations involving Somali Minnesotans have fueled national debate about whether generous benefit systems and weak enforcement create magnets for abuse, especially in jurisdictions skeptical of strict immigration controls.
By late 2025, ICE had already tested the waters with “Operation Metro Surge,” targeting migrants in the Twin Cities who had final deportation orders, including many Somalis. That earlier effort produced roughly 700 arrests and mapped out networks, addresses, and workplaces that are now feeding into the larger 2026 crackdown. Homeland Security Investigations likewise spent months inspecting dozens of local sites, building fraud cases and identifying employers suspected of hiring unauthorized workers. The current surge layers mass personnel deployments on top of those investigations, signaling that Washington is done waiting for state and local leaders to get serious.
A Fatal Traffic Stop Turns Enforcement into a Political Firestorm
Just days into the surge, an ICE officer shot and killed a 37-year-old woman during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis neighborhood, about a mile from where George Floyd died in 2020. Federal officials quickly called the shooting an act of self-defense, saying the vehicle posed a threat as the driver pulled away. Minneapolis officials who reviewed bystander video publicly disputed that account, arguing the footage did not support claims that the officer’s life was in danger when he fired.
The shooting immediately transformed an already tense operation into a national flashpoint. Hundreds of protesters poured into the streets near the scene, chanting slogans like “ICE out of Minnesota” and confronting federal officers. Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey blasted the federal narrative as “bullshit” and demanded ICE leave the city and state, accusing agents of sowing chaos and distrust. Democratic Governor Tim Walz labeled the shooting “predictable” and “avoidable,” denounced the surge as a political “show,” and simultaneously warned he might deploy the National Guard if unrest escalates.
Federal–Local Standoff Over Law, Order, and Sovereignty
Behind the rhetoric lies a deeper federal–local power struggle over who sets the rules on immigration and public safety. The Trump administration has staked its second term on aggressive enforcement, promising the largest deportation campaign in American history and tying that agenda to high-profile fraud scandals in places like Minnesota. DHS leaders argue that 30 days of concentrated operations are necessary to remove criminals, dismantle smuggling networks, and stop the bleeding of taxpayer funds into corrupt schemes.
Minnesota’s Democratic leadership has chosen a different posture, framing the surge as collective punishment against immigrant communities and warning of civil-rights abuses. They emphasize new audits, program-integrity offices, and review councils as evidence they are addressing fraud on their own terms. Immigrant-rights groups and local activists, meanwhile, are organizing protests, legal aid, and media campaigns that cast the operation as racialized targeting.
Sources:
2,000 federal agents deploying to Minneapolis in immigration crackdown
ICE officer kills a Minneapolis driver in a deadly start to Trump’s latest immigration operation
Trump sends 2,000 federal agents to Minnesota, expanding immigration crackdown
Minnesota leaders call for ICE to leave the state after agent shoots driver
