What 74 days of federal operations looked like in Minnesota, frame by frame
From enforcement raids to citizen checks: A CNN analysis of federal agents’ presence in the Twin Cities
Updated February 13, 2026
Confirmed federal agent locations since Jan. 6, 2026
MINNESOTA
Minneapolis
St. Paul
Jan. 7
Renee Good killed
BH Whipple Federal Building
Confirmed federal agent locations since Jan. 6, 2026
MINNESOTA
MINNESOTA
Minneapolis
St. Paul
Jan. 7
Renee Good killed
BH Whipple Federal Building
President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan announced on February 12 that the months-long immigration operation in Minnesota will soon come to an end, though DHS has not indicated how many federal agents will remain in the Twin Cities or what enforcement posture will follow.
Throughout the 74 days of Operation Metro Surge, which DHS described as "the largest DHS operation ever," CNN reviewed and geolocated videos that demonstrate just some examples of federal agents’ tactics in the Twin Cities. Videos show they detained both suspected undocumented immigrants and US citizens, used pepper balls, tear gas and pepper spray against protesters, and stopped a citizen to ask for identification and where he was born because of his accent.
Tensions escalated in the Twin Cities when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, in her SUV on January 7. A little over two weeks later, agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Intensive Care Unit nurse. The deaths sparked outrage against federal agents’ presence in the Twin Cities and the Department of Homeland Security’s aggressive tactics by armed, masked agents — in both immigration enforcement operations and crackdowns on protesters.
DHS said it has taken "appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters,” DHS said in a statement to CNN.
At its peak, about 3,000 immigration officers surged into the cities, greatly outnumbering the combined sworn police officers that Minneapolis and St. Paul have. DHS announced that federal agents arrested more than 4,000 undocumented immigrants in Minnesota from the beginning of Operation Metro Surge on Dec. 1 through Feb. 4.
Jan. 7
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