MINNEAPOLIS — Volunteer mutual aid group Juntos Podemos raised $15,000 toward a $20,000 goal at a fundraiser held April 23 at Arbiter Brewing Co. in Minneapolis. The proceeds will support immigrant families recovering from Operation Metro Surge, the federal immigration enforcement campaign that ended in February.

Juntos Podemos distributes food and other donations to families affected by the operation, and the group assists immigrants with groceries and rent. The fundraiser comes as many immigrants in Minneapolis have accrued debt and worry about paying rent on time since the operation concluded.

During Operation Metro Surge, federal agents arrested more than 3,000 immigrants in the Minneapolis area. Two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis during the operation. After it concluded in February, masked federal immigration agents left the city, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents ceased removing immigrants from cars and homes. Community members also stopped stationing street volunteers who had used whistles to alert others of ICE presence.

Many immigrants in Minneapolis stopped working during the operation. Grocery prices in the city have risen in recent months.

Paola, an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador whose husband was deported in August 2025, went into hiding for two months during Operation Metro Surge. She lost much of her income during that period and fell behind on paying her debts.

Eviction filings in Minneapolis in April increased by 26% compared with April of the previous year, according to HOME Line. The rise in filings follows a period in which many immigrant residents stopped working and fell behind on rent payments.