MINNEAPOLIS — The administration announced in February that it was withdrawing hundreds of agents from Minneapolis after Operation Metro Surge, a federal immigration enforcement campaign. Federal immigration enforcement agents conducted the operation in the Minneapolis area earlier this year.

Operation Metro Surge began in December as part of President Donald Trump's enforcement efforts targeting undocumented immigrants, particularly those accused of committing crimes. During the operation, federal agents shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, in January during protests. In a separate incident that same month, federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, also a 37-year-old U.S. citizen. President Trump removed Greg Bovino, the head of the operation in Minneapolis, in January following these deaths.

The Trump administration stated that Operation Metro Surge was necessary to remove individuals accused of violent crimes from the country. The Department of Homeland Security stated it arrested thousands of individuals in Minnesota accused of criminal offenses, listing 23 immigrants it stated were convicted or charged with crimes including murder, rape, domestic violence, and theft. Data obtained by the Deportation Data Project indicates that more than 60% of those arrested in Minnesota did not have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced in January that it would re-vet 5,600 refugees in Minnesota who had not yet received green cards, deeming a previous vetting process "wholly inadequate." This re-vetting initiative is something U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has sought to expand on a national scale. Some refugees were transferred out of state to Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention and re-interviewed on their refugee claims without legal representation.

Approximately 1,000 federal agents left Minnesota by mid-February, with hundreds more departing subsequently. The federal government stated in a March lawsuit that 482 agents remained in Minnesota, according to plaintiff ACLU-MN. Prior to Operation Metro Surge, approximately 190 federal agents worked in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Saint Paul office, according to the ACLU.

Border Czar Tom Homan said, "Moving forward, ICE will be conducting targeted immigration enforcement operations like it has done for decades." Morgan Budiandri, a representative of the MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, said, "The deportation machine has kind of turned more surgical, so to speak." Budiandri added, "There's less activity in the cities where there's a lot more prying eyes. But out in the suburbs, we still have reports of officers coming to businesses demanding to see a manifesto of undocumented employees."

Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents patrolled streets, raided homes and schools, and detained individuals during Operation Metro Surge. Deportation flights from Minneapolis have continued, according to ICE Flight Monitor at Human Rights First, which tracked approximately 100 such flights this year. These flights were predominantly destined for El Paso, Texas.