Federal agents in tactical gear flooded Minneapolis neighborhoods in early January 2026. Around 2,000 personnel from ICE, Homeland Security Investigations, and Border Patrol launched Operation Metro Surge. The government called it the largest immigration enforcement effort in U.S. history. The operation started in December 2025 and targeted both immigration violations and fraud in social programs.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced hundreds more agents would arrive on January 10. This pushed the total number of agents beyond 2,400. That number more than doubled the combined police forces of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Strike teams conducted coordinated raids across the metro area. They have arrested over 1,500 people since the operation began.
The operation focused partly on fraud cases. The Feeding Our Future scandal involved $300 million in fake COVID-19 meal claims. Federal prosecutors charged 78 people, mostly Somali Americans and citizens. Investigators also expanded their probes into housing and childcare schemes. These programs saw costs balloon from $2.6 million to over $104 million annually. Three-quarters of the deployed agents came from ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Deadly Shooting Ignites Community Outrage
On January 7, 2026, at 9:37 a.m., ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good. Good was an American citizen and the mother of three. She sat in her maroon Honda Pilot on Portland Avenue when Ross fired three shots. Good had arrived to support neighbors during the raids.
Video footage showed conflicting commands from agents. Ross shot in under a second. Good’s wheels were angled away from him. Emergency services reached her within six minutes. Doctors pronounced her dead at Hennepin County Medical Center.
Ross had nearly 20 years in law enforcement. He served in combat in Iraq and worked for Border Patrol on cartel intelligence. He joined ICE in 2015 for fugitive operations and served on a SWAT team. Months earlier, a vehicle had dragged Ross, causing injuries.
The shooting triggered massive protests. Tens of thousands marched through the streets of Minneapolis despite freezing weather. Community members remembered Good as warm, poetic, and devoted. Her family and partner said she was helping immigrant neighbors. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey demanded ICE’s withdrawal hours after the shooting. He stated their presence bred chaos over safety. Police Chief Brian O’Hara criticized federal tactics. Police arrested 30 people during mostly peaceful demonstrations at agent hotels.
Legal Battle and Community Fear
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit on January 12. Minneapolis and St. Paul joined the suit. They alleged unconstitutional raids by thousands of armed, masked agents. The lawsuit claimed violations of First and Tenth Amendment rights through profiling and harassment.
The operation created widespread fear in immigrant communities. Businesses along Lake Street’s Latino and Somali corridors shuttered. Workers faced detention. Owners questioned what offenses they had committed. Schools went into lockdown. Abandoned vehicles, some with pets inside, littered streets by week’s end. Three congresswomen tried to visit an ICE site but were turned away.
Noem defended the shooting as self-defense. She claimed Good tried to run over agents. Video analyses by outlets like The New York Times showed otherwise. Federal investigators faced state access blocks. Critics accused the government of self-investigation.
Reinforcements arrived on January 11 and 12. The administration accused local leaders of inciting violence without providing evidence. Officials vowed no retreat. Over 2,400 agents now outnumber local police forces. Lawsuits remain pending. Protests have echoed nationwide. Good’s death remains unresolved. Minnesota’s challenge tests federal-state boundaries and raises questions about the human cost of enforcement.
Sources:
CBS News, “2000 federal agents deploying to Minneapolis in crackdown,” January 4, 2026
Time Magazine, “Noem Says Hundreds More Agents To Be Sent To Minneapolis,” January 10, 2026
NBC News, “Woman fatally shot by ICE officer remembered as ‘one of the caring neighbors’,” January 7, 2026
BBC, “More federal agents to be sent to Minnesota, Trump administration announces,” January 11, 2026
CNN, “ICE Minneapolis shooting: Noem to deploy hundreds more federal agents,” January 11, 2026
Associated Press, “DHS deploys 2K federal agents to Minneapolis area to carry out largest immigration operation ever,” January 6, 2026