DHS Launches Largest-Ever Immigration Operation in Minnesota

The Department of Homeland Security announced on Tuesday that it has launched what it calls the largest immigration enforcement operation in the agency’s history, deploying about 2,000 federal agents and officers to the Minneapolis area. The operation is partly linked to alleged fraud cases involving members of the local Somali community.

“The largest DHS operation ever is happening right now in Minnesota,” the department said in a post on X, significantly expanding the federal law enforcement presence in the state amid rising political and community tensions.

According to a U.S. official and another person briefed on the operation, roughly 2,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and officers are being sent to Minnesota, with most expected to operate in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area. Both sources spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss operational details publicly.

Immigrant rights groups and elected officials in the Twin Cities reported a noticeable increase in federal agent activity on Tuesday, particularly around St. Paul. Sightings included agents’ vehicles conducting traffic stops and appearing near businesses and apartment complexes.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was also on the ground and accompanied ICE officers during at least one arrest. In a video posted on X, Noem, wearing a tactical vest and knit cap, is seen as agents arrest a man in St. Paul, telling him, “You will be held accountable for your crimes.”

DHS later said the man, an Ecuadorian national, was wanted in Ecuador and Connecticut on charges including murder and sexual assault. The agency also said that 150 people were arrested on Monday during enforcement actions in Minneapolis.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz sharply criticised the surge, describing it as “a war that’s being waged against Minnesota.”

“What you’re seeing is a massive, uncoordinated surge of about 2,000 personnel that appears designed for cameras,” Walz told reporters in Minneapolis on Tuesday, a day after announcing he would not seek a third term.

Community anxiety was already high, particularly within the Twin Cities’ Somali population, the largest in the United States. The Trump administration has repeatedly focused on the community, and last month Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara criticised federal agents for using “questionable methods” following clashes with protesters.

St. Paul City Council member Molly Coleman, whose district includes a manufacturing plant where more than a dozen people were arrested in November, said the situation on Tuesday was unprecedented.

“This is unlike any other day we’ve experienced,” Coleman said. “It’s incredibly distressing. When ICE comes into a city, everyone is on edge and afraid.”

Advocacy groups also reported a heavier enforcement presence. Julia Decker, policy director at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, said sightings of agents and enforcement vehicles had increased in places such as parking lots. Dieu Do, an organiser with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, said response teams were being dispatched as reports came in. “You can definitely feel a heavier presence,” he said.

Officials familiar with the operation said about three-quarters of the deployed personnel are from ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations unit, which handles immigration arrests and deportations. The deployment also includes agents from Homeland Security Investigations, ICE’s investigative arm, which focuses on fraud and cross-border criminal networks.

HSI agents have been going door-to-door in the Twin Cities investigating allegations of fraud, human smuggling and illegal employment practices. While HSI is expected to concentrate on fraud-related cases, deportation officers are carrying out arrests of individuals accused of immigration violations. Specialised tactical units are also involved.

The operation further includes personnel from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including Commander Gregory Bovino, whose tactics in previous federal deployments have drawn criticism from local officials and civil rights groups.

Meanwhile, Hilton announced Tuesday that it had removed a Minnesota hotel from its system after it denied service to federal agents. The Hampton Inn Lakeville, about 20 miles south of Minneapolis, apologised on Monday for cancelling agents’ reservations and said it would work to accommodate them. The hotel did not respond to requests for comment.

Federal authorities have been stepping up immigration arrests in the Minneapolis area since late last year. Last week, Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel said federal agencies were intensifying operations in Minnesota, with a focus on fraud investigations.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly linked the administration’s immigration crackdown in the state to fraud involving federal nutrition and pandemic relief programs, many of which have involved defendants with ties to Somalia.

Officials cautioned that the scope and duration of the current operation could change in the coming days as it continues to unfold.