Operation Metro Surge: Human Rights Watch Report on Minnesota’s Immigration Crackdown

Operation Metro Surge, described by the Trump administration as the largest immigration enforcement action in U.S. history, began in December 2025 and continued into February 2026 across Minneapolis and St. Paul. Federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Border Patrol conducted roving arrests at an average of 100 per day, totaling more than 4,000 immigrants. Sixty-four percent of those arrested had no prior criminal record. The report notes that both U.S. citizens and non-citizens of Somali and Latin American descent were routinely approached by agents while driving, working, or performing everyday tasks, indicating widespread racial profiling.

The Intercept

• > 4,000 immigrants arrested; ? 100 arrests per day (highest per-capita rate in the nation).

The Intercept

• 64 % of arrestees had no criminal record.

The Intercept

• 524 U.S. citizens detained (recorded by a National Lawyers Guild hotline, likely an undercount).

The Intercept

• A University of California-San Diego survey found ? 1 in 3 Minneapolis residents had an interaction with federal agents; ? ½ of those occurred near schools, health facilities, child-care centers, courthouses, or places of worship.

The Intercept

• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Minnesota reported a 120 % increase in crisis-line calls and a marked rise in suicidal ideation.

The Intercept

• At least three teenagers attempted suicide after their parents were detained; one adolescent reported frequent attempts.

The Intercept

• One health provider noted a 50 % drop in in-person visits; another observed that ? 1 in 3 patients (mostly Somali or Spanish-speaking immigrants) missed scheduled appointments the day after a fatal shooting.

The Intercept

• School attendance fell by nearly 33 % in one district; rent-assistance requests rose 85 %.

The Intercept

• City officials estimate the operation cost Minneapolis nearly $700 million.

The Intercept

The combined effect of violent encounters and perceived racial profiling created pervasive fear and stress. Residents reported exhaustion, frustration, and heightened anxiety about daily activities such as seeking medical care, attending school, or working. The surge’s impact on children—particularly immigrant children and children of color—was highlighted as a long-term risk factor for psychological harm.

The Intercept

Local health providers documented reduced patient volumes and missed appointments, while school officials recorded sharp attendance declines. Tenants sought emergency rent assistance at unprecedented rates, and community members described avoiding public spaces due to the presence of ICE agents.

The Intercept

Human Rights Watch, led by author Reagan Williams, emphasized that the operation’s harms extend beyond street-level violence to everyday life, calling for a Department of Homeland Security overhaul, congressional investigations, and legislation prohibiting immigration arrests at schools and hospitals. The superintendent of the affected school district described the environment as one where “every time ICE was near a school, you’d stop reading my messages,” underscoring the pervasive sense of intimidation.

The Intercept

The report characterizes the documented abuses as having faced “near-total impunity.” Critics point to the disproportionate targeting of Somali and Latin American communities, the high rate of arrests without criminal histories, and the substantial social-economic fallout as evidence of systemic failure.

The Intercept

Detention figures for U.S. citizens rely on a hotline that likely undercounts cases, leaving the true scale of citizen detentions uncertain. Comprehensive data on long-term mental-health outcomes for affected families remain limited.

The Intercept

• “but also the effects that that had for aspects of daily life for everybody here — the impact it had on people’s ability to leave their homes, to go to doctor, to go to school, to go to work.” — Reagan Williams, Human Rights Watch author

The Intercept

• “They expressed particular concerns for children, medical providers in particular, the impact of missing school, of knowing violence is happening in their communities — for immigrant children and children of color, the fear of having a parent taken, of themselves being taken.” — Reagan Williams

The Intercept

• “Children are particularly vulnerable to long-term impacts of this kind of acute violence and stress,” — Reagan Williams

The Intercept

• “If I told you every time ICE was near a school, you’d stop reading my messages.” — District superintendent

The Intercept

• “The many abuses committed by federal agencies during Operation Metro Surge have so far been met with near-total impunity.” — Human Rights Watch report

The Intercept

Human Rights Watch urges congressional hearings into the operation’s conduct, legislative proposals to bar ICE activity at schools and hospitals, and a structural review of the Department of Homeland Security’s enforcement policies. Ongoing investigations by Minneapolis officials are expected to further detail the financial and social costs of the surge.

The Intercept