By Bill Scheer and Sandi Sherman

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, February 19, 2026 — After nearly three months, the largest anti-immigrant operation in U.S. history has officially “ended” — beaten back by a massive, sustained, and well-organized resistance involving hundreds of thousands throughout the state of Minnesota and across the country.

At its peak, the surge involved 3,000 federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol — a 2,000% increase over the normal deployment in the state, and more than twice the size of the combined police forces in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes Minneapolis and St. Paul.

These agents have functioned as a hostile paramilitary force to carry out “retribution” against Minnesota and the immigrant communities that U.S. president Donald Trump calls “garbage” and “animals” who have “destroyed Minnesota.”

Leaving basic human and constitutional rights in shreds, armed masked agents in unmarked cars rounded up several thousand people, including citizens; randomly stopped cars; racially profiled residents; hauled occupants through broken car windows; and broke doors down without warrants.

Guns drawn, using pepper spray, tear gas, and flash bombs, they created and escalated confrontations with peaceful observers and bystanders who were videoing their actions and verbally expressing outrage. The resulting chaos was used by Trump to put the military on high alert and threaten to declare martial law.

The actions of the ICE goons created fear in immigrant communities, including among those with legal standing. Thousands of children stayed home, unable to go to school or play outside. The surge devastated economic life in big sections of the community, shuttering hundreds of businesses and depriving thousands of their livelihoods.

And these thugs shot three people, killing two U.S. citizens.

Operation Metro Surge — as the Department of Homeland Security named its Minnesota deployment — was not the “targeted” operation the Trump administration claimed would go after the “worst of the worst.”

Increasingly, as Minnesotans stood up to defend their neighbors, people monitoring and protesting ICE activities found themselves in the government’s crosshairs.

On February 13, nearly 100 sworn statements were filed in federal court citing cases in which federal agents singled out protesters, finding the addresses of their homes and showing up there to taunt and intimidate.

Turning point in response

A turning point came beginning January 23. Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans took action that day in response to a call by labor unions, church leaders, and community organizations for “No work, No school, No shopping.” This included 50,000 people who marched and rallied in downtown Minneapolis despite wind chills approaching  -30° F.

The following day, ICE agents pumped 10 bullets into the body of Veterans Administration (VA) nurse Alex Pretti while holding him down on the icy pavement.

Reacting to this murder, thousands more hit the streets in a tsunami of anger that reached deep into all segments of the population. High school students in several Minneapolis schools walked out, sparking a wave of high school walkouts nationally. These mobilizations broke the back of the surge politically, forcing a change in personnel, tactics, and a withdrawal in stages.

On February 4, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan announced a drawdown of ICE forces. Over the next 10 days, he told the press that Operation Metro Surge had “yielded the successful results we … came here for” as well as “unprecedented levels of coordination” with state and local law enforcement.

On the February 15 broadcast of “Face the Nation,” Homan said that the numbers of ICE agents in Minnesota will “get back to the original footprint,” with the exception of specialized teams assigned to investigate allegations of fraud as well as anti-ICE activists, specifically those accused of disrupting a church service. But he gave no specific timetable or numbers.

The ICE Out of Minnesota Coalition responded, “These masked agents leaving our state can be spun any way people want, but history will show what this was: regular people, clergy and teachers, janitors and soccer moms, people across all of our complicated differences, simply refusing to let our neighbors be attacked and abducted without a fight.” They added, “Many Minnesotans were forever changed by these surges.”

ICE is still here, but the drawdown is real

But ICE is still here: significantly smaller, but still larger than its pre-surge numbers. There is a notable change in tactics: “softer” and less visible, less brutally aggressive, less teargas and pepper spray, fewer random stops. The operations are more targeted and quieter. For example, female Latina agents are now knocking on doors, instead of squads of heavily armed men breaking them down.

In one case, a woman appeared to be having car trouble outside the home of a mechanic known for fixing his neighbors vehicles. When he came to assist her, she abruptly left and two ICE vehicles pulled up. He has no criminal record but was previously deported. He leaves behind his wife and children.

Activists report that ICE is continuing its attempts to intimidate them — following them home, staging outside their homes, and using license plates and advanced facial recognition technology to identify them, find their addresses, and then calling out their names.

Meanwhile, a four-year $75 billion supplemental appropriation added to ICE’s $10 billion annual budget is being used to build new detention centers and dramatically increase ICE capability.

More breathing room

Our Signal chat groups report fewer ICE sightings and less activity in the Twin Cities. Some of it has reportedly shifted outward to the suburbs and rural areas.

While fear and anxiety are still heightened and many immigrants continue to stay home, many other Minnesota residents feel they have more breathing room. Economic life has noticeably improved as restaurants and businesses re-open and workers return to jobs. But recovery will take time. Several businesses have permanently closed, and the economic losses in Minneapolis alone are estimated at over $200 million.

Most immigrant rights activists — numbering in the tens of thousands statewide — are staying vigilant in what is still a very fluid situation. They continue to monitor ICE movements, patrol schools and churches, organize rides and food distribution, provide rent assistance, legal aid, and more. Many have jumped in with specialized talents — including carpenters organizing to fix broken doors and Leo’s Towing, which offers free towing service for cars left on the street after an abduction.

The captain of our school patrol team said there is an uptick of volunteers since Homan came to town. Last week while we were on duty, an older couple, out for a walk in the warmer weather, stopped to ask how they could get involved.

Outside the Twin Cities, Minnesotans are also seeing the economic impact of ICE raids — particularly in agricultural communities as farmers are having trouble hiring for the spring and summer seasons. Gary Wertish, president of the 18,000-member Minnesota Farmers Union, says workers are scared to come to Minnesota and even scared to come to other states. He predicts lower crop yields and ultimately higher prices at the grocery store.

Students returning to the classrooms

Another important development is that students are returning to school.

We are on the School Patrol team at Valley View Elementary School in Columbia Heights. The student body includes a large percent of immigrants and was hard hit the last three months.

It was here that Liam Ramos, the 5-year-old boy known from the famous photo of his abduction while wearing a blue bunny-eared hat, was taken while returning home with his father and sent to a detention center in Texas. Both Liam and his father have now been returned and await an immigration hearing.

An English as a Second Language teacher at the school told us that up to 140 students were missing from class during the surge — many of them citizens by birth but who were fearful of returning home to find their parents had been taken. Some students are permanently gone — either deported, or because their families left voluntarily.

We have noticed a steady increase of students in the last week or so. Valley View principal Jason Kuhlman confirmed this. He said they are working with parents and have a goal of completely returning to normal — or close to it — in the next few weeks. To reach that goal while keeping students safe, teachers and staff have organized to provide rides to and from school, and they ensure that no immigrant child leaves the school without an adult escort. The school follows up when students are absent without an explanation.

Kuhlman added, “We will continue with the food bank for at least two to three months to help families impacted by job loss.”

Remote learning will continue to be an option until parents feel comfortable sending their children back. But Kuhlman hopes to phase it out soon because elementary students “need to be in class to learn.”

Demonstrations, assessments, and the way forward

Many protests still pop up without being broadly organized or making the news. We visited the Renee Good memorial last week where a small but joyful and boisterous march with brass instruments, organized by an artist’s cooperative, stopped briefly before proceeding down the road. Later at the Alex Pretti memorial, we spoke to a leader of Vets for Peace who told us that we had just missed a veterans’ rally in commemoration of Pretti’s work at the VA. 

Other actions by activist organizations are modest but important for keeping the heat on. They demand justice and accountability for those arrested, abused and killed by ICE, as well as a complete withdrawal of ICE from the state, funding for recovery, and a moratorium on evictions for those unable to work during the surge.

On February 18, the Twin Cities Tenants Union was joined by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 26, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota/Iowa, UNITE HERE Local 17, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005, and Communication Workers of America Local 7250 in announcing plans for a rent strike beginning March 1.

“Over 35,000 low-income Twin Cities households were already unable to afford the rent before the federal siege,” the coalition said. “Estimates show over $47 million in lost wages among people who have not been safe to go to work, and at least $15.7 million in additional rental assistance needed due to lost household income — leaving many of those households at imminent risk of eviction.”

Evictions in Hennepin County spiked 45% between in the past 12 months, while requests for financial assistance have nearly doubled.

Several hundred people participated in a spirited rally and march to the Alex Pretti memorial site on February 16 for “A Day Out for Democracy.” The Minnesota AFL-CIO was the main sponsor of the action and several union locals were listed as co-sponsors, although there were no labor speakers at the kick-off rally and identifiable union presence was minimal.

Speakers and chants pointed to the need to continue the fight but offered differing views on the end of the surge and the road forward. Some highlighted the drawdown as a victory won by massive popular support; others downplayed it as mostly a change in government tactics aimed at getting people off the streets.

Malika Dahir, executive director of Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment, addressed the crowd. “You know what … we did? We won the drawdown of ICE agents. We did that,” she said. Calling the drawdown “good news,” she added, “We’re gonna take a moment to celebrate it — and it would not have been made possible without us. But this is not the end.”

Speaking from a sound truck during the march, Marcia Howard, a longtime teacher and president of the teachers’ section of Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59, implored marchers to keep fighting. She said that “56 cars left the Whipple Building yesterday.” Whipple is where ICE takes detainees and has been the site of ongoing protests. “We’re not done; nothing has changed,” Howard said.

The day before, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) led a separate action, also numbering several hundred, on Central Avenue, home to large numbers of Ecuadorans and Somalis. MIRAC leader Myrka Zambrano said, “They want us to believe the occupation is over, when we see it in full swing in our neighborhoods.”

The flyer for the MIRAC march directed fire at Minnesota governor Tim Walz, citing Homan’s statement of “unprecedented cooperation.” Some speakers accused Walz and county sheriffs of “selling out” and cutting a deal with Homan to lift the surge.

Walz strongly denies any deal, saying immigration policies in Minnesota have not changed. Of the 40 percent of county sheriffs that responded to a Minneapolis Star-Tribune inquiry, none said they had changed their policies or signed new agreements with federal immigration officials during the operation.

Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt said their policy has not changed, despite pressure from Homan. Hennepin County does not ask about immigration status, hold people for ICE, or notify agents when an immigrant they are seeking is released from jail.

What is the road forward to defend immigrant workers?

At the “Day Out for Democracy” action, some rally speakers, who look to congressional Democrats currently using the government shutdown to seek ICE reform, pointed to the midterm elections as the next step. Others demanded “Abolish ICE” and criticized Walz and U.S. senator Amy Klobuchar, a centrist Democrat who is replacing Walz as the party’s nominee for governor. One chant  — “No return to the status quo” — referred to the pre-surge era when deportations were happening on a smaller scale.

Some picket signs, and an occasional chant, called for “legalization for immigrants.” This demand is critical to strengthening and uniting the working class to fight in our interests.

As conditions worsen for working people under capitalism, the rulers use the second-class status of undocumented labor to drive down wages and working conditions. They scapegoat immigrants and others to deepen divisions among working people and to deflect anger among U.S.-born workers who have seen their living standards decline. To stand up to this, unions need to do more than simply lend their names as supporters of immigrant rights. While this is important, it is far from enough.

The fight for immigrant rights is at the center of turning the tide, of winning workers to the understanding that “an injury to one is an injury to all.” Convincing rank-and-file workers to take up the campaign for legalization of their immigrant brothers and sisters is part of pulling together the forces needed to fight for better working conditions and democratic rights for all.

The success of the fight in Minnesota, which has drawn thousands of working people, youth, and others into action — many of them for the very first time, is an example of where we need to begin.

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