Minnesota Immigrant Communities Report Lasting Fear After Major ICE Operation Ends
Some Minnesotans from immigrant backgrounds continue to live in fear months after federal officials scaled back a major immigration enforcement operation in the state, according to community interviews and advocacy reports. Operation Metro Surge, which the Department of Homeland Security launched in December 2025 with thousands of agents deployed to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, officially drew down by mid-February 2026 amid backlash that included the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens during protests. As of June 2026, residual effects ranging from psychological trauma to financial strain remain evident across affected neighborhoods, a Human Rights Watch assessment found this month.
The Department of Homeland Security described the operation as a success that removed more than 4,000 individuals, including people convicted of serious crimes, according to its February 2026 announcement. Government data obtained by the Deportation Data Project showed, however, that over 60 percent of those arrested in Minnesota during the surge had no criminal convictions or pending charges. A Wikipedia compilation of public records places the total number of arrests above 3,789, with the effort initially focused on the state’s Somali community over alleged links to childcare program fraud.
Minnesota is home to the nation’s largest Somali diaspora, with roughly 84,000 to 90,000 people of Somali descent, the vast majority of whom are U.S. citizens or legal residents, U.S. Census Bureau figures cited by the Minnesota Reformer indicate. Michelle Eberhard, director of refugee services at the International Institute of Minnesota, told the BBC that an operation of this scale produces long-term consequences. “When you have an invasion like this, people continue to experience the ramifications of that for a long time,” Eberhard said, adding that “people are still living through that trauma.”
Aliah, a 20-year-old Afghan refugee granted asylum in the United States after fleeing her country in 2021, holds a green card but described ongoing anxiety for her family. “We’re still a little scared,” Aliah told the BBC, noting they have nowhere to return if conditions worsen. Fatima, a 19-year-old Somali refugee who resumed in-person schooling in April after months of remote learning, echoed that sentiment. “I ask myself every day… I say, ‘if they come back, what are you going to do?’ I’m scared still if they come back,” Fatima said.
Economic disruption proved substantial along corridors such as Lake Street in south Minneapolis, where immigrant-owned businesses predominate. The Lake Street Council estimated that at least half the businesses closed during the operation’s peak, producing a monthly revenue decline exceeding $30 million, while the U.S. Immigration Policy Center projected $240 million in lost wages across Minneapolis and St. Paul plus $610 million in combined revenue losses for the Twin Cities. Statewide eviction filings rose 8 percent in 2026 compared with the prior year, according to data from the Eviction Lab at Princeton University.
Federal presence has contracted significantly since the surge’s height, with the Minnesota Reformer reporting in February that fewer than 500 immigration agents remained in the state after a peak deployment estimated at 3,000, above the pre-surge baseline of roughly 190 in the St. Paul ICE office. Border Czar Tom Homan stated that ICE would shift to targeted enforcement actions similar to those conducted for decades. Human Rights First tracked approximately 100 deportation flights originating from Minneapolis this year, predominantly to El Paso, with numbers declining monthly.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services additionally moved in January 2026 to re-vet 5,600 refugees in Minnesota whose prior screenings the agency deemed inadequate, according to its announcement, with some transferred to out-of-state detention for interviews without legal counsel present. Morgan Budiandri of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee told the BBC that enforcement has become more surgical in suburban and rural areas. Katie, a Minneapolis teacher who helped coordinate aid for students during the operation, described the city as “this minefield of ghosts” even after schools returned to normal routines, noting some students dropped out to support families that lost income.
