On Feb. 12, 2026, White House Border Czar Tom Homan officially declared an end to Operation Metro Surge — a month-long immigration enforcement operation that deployed over 3,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents across the Twin Cities and the broader Minnesota area.
Metro Surge lasted from Dec. 2025 until Feb. 12, and, according to the Immigration Legal Resource Center, resulted in over 4,000 arrests. According to CNN, the increase in ICE and CBP agents was drastic, with federal presence in the Twin Cities increasing from approximately 150 agents to approximately 3,000 after the wave of deployments.
“Operation Metro Surge changed the emotional and social climate of Northfield almost overnight,” said Rev. Cody Maynus, the priest of All Saints Episcopal Church in Northfield. “Even people who were not directly affected by immigration enforcement felt the tension. Throughout Northfield, families were afraid to go about their daily lives. People worried about being seen, gathering publicly or even attending church. It created a culture of fear that touched schools, workplaces and neighborhoods.”
Operation Metro Surge was also marked by massive protests across the state, including several in Northfield. According to The Guardian, protests in Minneapolis on Jan. 23 drew between 50,000 and 100,000 participants. The motivations behind protests and marches changed throughout the operation. Conflicts between Minnesota residents and law enforcement intensified after an ICE agent killed Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7, 2026, and two CBP agents killed Alex Pretti on Jan. 24, 2026.
Dacie Moses House Coordinator Holly Kelchner is a Unitarian Universalist seminary student and was one of nearly 100 clergy members to be arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Jan. 23. She was part of a “pray-in” protest aimed to draw attention to ICE detainees being transported on major airlines at the airport.
“As a seminarian and a community leader within my role at Carleton and within the wider community, I felt it was my duty to my community to do whatever I could to be as involved in whatever ways I could contribute,” Kelchner said.
Though Operation Metro Surge officially ended in February, lasting effects of the operation are still impacting Minnesota communities, especially as scaled-back ICE presence continues to cause many to fear for their safety.
“I remember at the beginning of winter term, and really for the next few months, I didn’t want to leave my dorm at all,” said an international student who requested to remain anonymous. “Now I feel better about going to the grocery store and taking walks in town, but I still don’t feel entirely safe, even in Northfield.”
Reflecting on the effects of Operation Metro Surge on the community, Maynus said he believes that the true impact cannot be measured, even three months after the end of the operation.
“The kind of trauma experienced by Operation Metro Surge has generational effects. I’m not sure that we’ll be able to fully grasp just how bad these few months were for several more years,” he said. “Families will always remember what it felt like to live under threat. Many folks remain uncertain about what could happen next. Trust — especially trust in institutions — is much slower to rebuild than it is to damage. So while the emergency moment has passed, the emotional and relational aftereffects remain very much with us.”
After Operation Metro Surge officially ended, members of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party sought to pass laws curbing the massive ICE presence in the state. On May 11, the Minnesota State Senate approved a package of bills aimed at restricting ICE activity in the wake of Operation Metro Surge.
These bills would place restrictions on ICE presence in “sensitive locations” including courthouses, universities, schools, hospitals and homeless shelters, according to CBS News. Approximately $40 million in rental relief and $100 million in small-business loans were also proposed to aid small businesses after any economic disruption Operation Metro Surge may have caused.
“There are economists who are studying the economic losses on businesses and revenue who could spew out high numbers, but the real effect we won’t visually see is the trauma that has been inflicted on the families whose whole lives have been turned upside down,” said Kelchner.
The package, if passed, would also allow those arrested or detained by ICE or CBP in Minnesota to sue federal agents in Minnesota state courts for violations of their constitutional rights.
The Minnesota State Senate approved the bill 34–33 with no Republican votes. Senate Republicans have opposed the bill due to high litigation costs from lawsuits against ICE and CBP, according to the Minnesota Reformer. Voting on the legislative package is not expected to occur in the current legislative session, which ends May 17, as the Minnesota State House has an even number of Democratic and Republican representatives and is unlikely to pass such a set of bills.
