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Federal authorities in the United States, through the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), have reported the detention of thousands of undocumented immigrants in the Minneapolis area —Saint Paul, Minnesota— as part of the so-called Metro Surge Operation, a broad campaign for immigration law enforcement that began in December 2025.
According to official reports on the social media platform X, since the beginning of the operation, the DHS has deployed numerous agents in the region and has apprehended more than 3,000 people identified as undocumented immigrants with criminal records.
The DHS has released information highlighting that among those arrested are individuals with a range of criminal backgrounds, including violent assaults, domestic abuse, drug trafficking, and other offenses, which in some cases have been described by authorities as "the worst of the worst."
The campaign is part of the federal administration's immigration enforcement policy and has been promoted as an effort to remove individuals from communities who, according to the DHS, pose a risk to public safety.
In statements, federal officials have held local leaders such as the governor of Minnesota and the mayor of Minneapolis responsible for the situation, pointing to a lack of cooperation with federal authorities.
However, the operation has sparked strong reactions in the political and civil spheres of Minnesota. State and local authorities have filed lawsuits against the federal government, describing the presence and actions of the agents as an unauthorized intrusion into local public safety functions and as a possible violation of civil rights.
Furthermore, the operation has attracted media attention and public debates due to specific cases of the use of force and the detentions of residents, which some civil organizations claim are inaccurately linked to the migration campaign.
The impact of Operation Metro Surge continues to evolve, with thousands of arrests reported and a tense atmosphere between federal and local levels regarding immigration policy, law enforcement, and the protection of immigrant and local communities in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.
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