MINNEAPOLIS — The Trump administration ordered a surge of armed federal immigration enforcement personnel onto the streets of Minneapolis, in what the Department of Homeland Security declared the largest operation in its history. The deployment is part of a broader campaign of mass arrests and deportations from the U.S. interior.

Federal officers from multiple agencies have been sent to prominent Democratic-led U.S. cities over the objections of local leaders. Officers have been raiding homes, businesses, commercial parking lots, schools, hospitals and courthouses across the country. President Trump has cited crime incidents to justify an ongoing National Guard deployment to Washington, D.C.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the largest component of the federal interior immigration enforcement operations. ICE officers often wear masks and refuse to identify themselves. U.S. Border Patrol, an agency within Customs and Border Protection, has become increasingly involved in interior enforcement, along with various other federal agencies drafted into the effort. ICE and Border Patrol both sit within DHS, the third-largest federal agency after the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

ICE is divided into two enforcement branches: Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations, along with administrative functions including the Office of the Principal Legal Adviser. Historically, ERO officers took custody of unauthorized immigrants from local jails after arrests for minor offenses such as marijuana infractions or driving without a license. The Obama administration implemented measures limiting such deportations, and Democratic-led jurisdictions restricted cooperation with ICE, reducing ERO arrests in many large cities. Under the Trump administration, ERO has increased arrests in public places and at job sites, and the White House has directed ICE to prioritize undocumented immigrants residing in the United States over recent border crossers. Undocumented border crossings from Mexico have declined.

HSI agents hold the same federal classification as FBI agents, with qualifications and training requirements that exceed those of ERO officers, and they have traditionally focused on complex international criminal cases including sex trafficking, child abuse rings and drug cartels. Since Trump returned to office, HSI agents have been reassigned to support ERO deportation operations and participate in raids. Some CBP officers have also begun supporting ERO field offices away from the border, though Border Patrol officers have less enforcement authority when operating more than 100 miles from a border, coastline or maritime boundary.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act increased ICE's budget for 2025-2026 to $28.7 billion, and Congress allocated $175 billion in funding to DHS. The number of ICE officers and agents rose from approximately 10,000 to 22,000 in 2025.