This story includes live updates from Jan. 16, 2026 about the surge of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota. For the latest news on ICE in Minnesota, visit our collection of stories here.
MPR News brings you the latest about the immigration enforcement in the state.
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7:45 p.m. | Federal judge blocks ICE from arresting protesters and observers in Minnesota, pulling them over
A federal judge on Friday set new guardrails for federal immigration and enforcement officers in Minnesota involved in Operation Metro Surge.
U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Menendez issued an order barring federal officers from detaining or arresting protesters or observers monitoring immigration and customs enforcement activity in retaliation unless there’s probable cause or reasonable suspicion they committed a crime or if they interfere with officers’ covered activity. Menendez also blocked the agents from using nonlethal munitions on peaceful protesters and observers and stopping or detaining drivers that tail ICE officers to monitor their operations.
“The act of safely following Covered Federal Agents at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop,” she wrote.
The order must be distributed to federal agents taking part in Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota within 72 hours. It will remain in effect until the operation concludes or conditions on the ground change.
The order comes days after Menendez heard oral arguments in the case of six Minnesotans who sued the Department of Homeland Security after they were detained or arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota for protesting or observing. Those Minnesotans alleged the actions were retaliatory and affected their constitutional rights to free speech and assembly.
Since they filed the case last month, dozens of additional people impacted by ICE actions in the state signed onto the lawsuit, sharing their experiences as declarants. Attorneys representing the U.S. Department of Justice argued that the action of following officers or observing law enforcement actions can be threatening in some instances and rise to the level of impeding their work.
Menendez pushed back on the Department of Justice for providing little evidence to counter ample photo, video and individual testimony of observers, protesters and others at the ICE enforcement actions. And she said the evidence brought forward by the six Minnesotans who were detained by ICE officers showed “an ongoing, persistent pattern of Defendants’ chilling conduct.”
“The alleged First Amendment violations here speak for themselves,” she said.
She said an intervention was necessary to prevent the violation of free speech rights of other protesters or observers amid the ongoing and enhanced enforcement operation.
“The dozens of declarations by similarly situated nonparties detail similar, if not more egregious, injuries to rights suffered at the hands of federal law enforcement officers for engaging in protected activity,” Menendez wrote.
“And although the Court is resisting relying broadly on media reports of recent developments, it cannot ignore the almost-nonstop press reporting of continuing protest activity met with continuing aggressive responses by immigration officers operating in the Twin Cities,” she continued. “Taken as a whole, the record adequately illustrates that Defendants have made, and will continue to make, a common practice of conduct that chills observers’ and protesters’ First Amendment rights.”
Menendez said earlier this week that the order is a temporary directive, with additional discovery and legal proceedings to follow.
The state of Minnesota has also sued DHS over Operation Metro Surge, alleging unconstitutional profiling by ICE in its detentions and arrests in Minnesota and “widespread unlawful conduct.” Menendez declined to issue a temporary restraining order to the department in that case but has an expedited calendar to review the case.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota announced Thursday it was filing an additional class action lawsuit against the Trump administration over its immigration enforcement actions.
— Dana Ferguson, MPR News
6:43 p.m. | Justice Department investigating whether Minnesota's Walz and Frey impeded immigration enforcement
The Justice Department is investigating whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have impeded federal immigration enforcement through public statements they have made, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The investigation focused on potential violation of a conspiracy statute, the people said.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss a pending investigation by name.
CBS News first reported the investigation.
Responding to the investigation, Gov. Tim Walz said: “Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.”
— The Associated Press
5 p.m. | Minneapolis cancels youth sports this weekend
Minneapolis Parks and Rec is cancelling all youth sports this weekend. Park and Recreation athletic director Jack Bartsh said the move is due to federal immigration enforcement concerns.
"We started to hear from our coaches and many of our parents, families and participants stating that they were not going to come and play basketball this weekend,” said Bartsh. “And because the volume of calls that were received were so large, we made the decision that it'd be, we'd be in, we'd be best served to cancel and plan to reschedule the games later in the season."
Bartsh says the department will reassess its schedule early next week.
4 p.m. | Trump: No reason to use Insurrection Act 'right now'
A day after threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, which would allow him to deploy troops, President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to back away from that a little.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump said: “I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it — but if I needed it, I’d use it. It’s very powerful.”
On Thursday morning, the president in a social media post had threatened to invoke the act in response to protests in Minneapolis.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the rarely used federal law to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.
— MPR News staff and The Associated Press
3:30 p.m. | Minnesota public safety officials held briefing prior to weekend protests
Minnesota public safety officials spoke at a news conference Friday “to provide a public safety briefing ahead of anticipated weekend demonstrations.”
Officials from the state Department of Public Safety, Minnesota National Guard, Minnesota State Patrol, state Department of Natural Resources and the Metro Transit Police Department were in attendance.
2:15 p.m. | Children hospitalized from tear gas
The Minneapolis Fire Department says an infant and a child were hospitalized Wednesday night, after the car they were in was caught in tear gas deployed by federal agents.
A department spokesperson said in a statement released Friday that 911 callers reported a 6-month-old infant was struggling to breathe due to gas on the 600 block of 23rd Avenue North, where a crowd of protesters had gathered after a federal agent shot and injured someone.
According to the fire department, the family reportedly got out of the car and brought the infant into a nearby home.
When police and firefighters reached the family inside, they found the infant in serious but stable condition. The infant, and one other child, were transported to a hospital.
In an online fundraiser, Destiny Jackson of Minneapolis said she was in the car with her husband and six children, when they got stuck in traffic amid the protest. She said a gas canister went off under the car, causing the airbags to go off and the car to fill with gas.
She wrote that the incident was “very traumatizing,” and said she and her husband are staying home from work to help their kids after the incident and replace their car.
11:30 a.m. | Congressional Democrats hear testimony on ICE actions in Minnesota
Congressional Democrats fielded testimony on Friday morning related to immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota.
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state is the top Democrat on the House Immigration Subcommittee, and said it was important to highlight the experience of Minnesotans.
She’s held similar hearings in other states where the National Guard has been deployed to quell protests. Jayapal addressed Minnesotans in her opening remarks at the hearing in St. Paul.
“I hope you see the fact that 28 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have traveled from all over the country to be with you today,” she said. “I hope you see that as a recognition that you are not in this alone. We’ve got your back, and we will do what we need to do in Congress to advocate fiercely for you.”
The gathering is what’s known as a shadow hearing — only involving members of the minority party in the House — so it doesn’t have the full effect of a formal hearing where members of both parties are involved.
But the hearing did draw a crowd. People testified to the panel about their experiences being detained by ICE officers and seeing adverse public safety impacts since federal officers were deployed to Minnesota.
Mubashir Khalif Hussen, a 20-year-old American citizen, told the panel that ICE agents detained him unlawfully in Minneapolis, even though he told them he was a legal resident.
“The targeting, harassing, violence and detention of Somali Americans is wrong, and I am worried for the safety of me, my family and my neighbors and community,” he said. “If Congress does not act, we will continue to be harmed simply for living in the United States of America.”
Hussen is named in a class-action lawsuit filed this week against the Trump administration, alleging racial profiling of Latino and Somali people.
Mendota Heights Police Chief Kelly McCarthy also testified, saying ICE agents have not communicated with her department when they’re operating in the city. The federal crackdown is “diverting resources from our core duties to deal with the aftermath of ICE actions ranging from reports of suspicious activity and abandoned vehicles to unsafe driving complaints.”
“Our efforts to regain public trust after the murder of George Floyd are being eroded as a direct result of Operation Metro Surge,” McCarthy testified. “Individuals who support the activity of ICE are angry with us for not doing more to assist the agents, while individuals who do not support the activities are angry with us for not doing more to hinder their operations.”
Speakers also included Democratic U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar and Betty McCollum, as well as U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith.
There was also a moment of silence in honor of Renee Macklin Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent in south Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
The Trump administration says it is surging federal agents to Minnesota to tackle fraud and apprehend people who've committed crimes. A Department of Homeland Security official told CNN on Thursday that about 2,500 federal agents are on the ground in Minnesota.
— Dana Ferguson, MPR News
8:40 a.m. | FBI announces arrest, offers reward after vehicle vandalism
The Federal Bureau of Investigation says one person has been arrested for allegedly stealing government property out of an FBI vehicle in north Minneapolis amid protests following the shooting of a man by a federal agent on Wednesday night.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest in a post on social media, and said the agency is “continuing to pursue other subjects involved.”
Video from the scene after the shooting Wednesday night showed people opening unmarked government vehicles and taking out documents and other items.
The FBI posted photos of a vehicle with a smashed windshield and spray-painted graffiti.
There was still paperwork and other debris littering the scene near 24th and Lyndale Avenue North on Thursday morning.
The FBI said it’s offering a reward of up to $100,000 for more information on the incident as it looks to recover the stolen property and arrest others involved in the theft.
— Estelle Timar-Wilcox, MPR News
6:45 a.m. | Congressional field hearing on ICE in Minnesota happening in Twin Cities on Friday
Several members of Congress will be in town today for a shadow field hearing on the ICE operation in Minnesota. U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, is the ranking member of Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement Subcommittee. She will lead the hearing along with U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar in the Twin Cities.
In a social media post, Jayapal says it is the sixth in a series of hearings she’s done in cities where ICE has been active. She says she’ll be joined by 30 Democratic members of Congress from across the country. The hearing will take a look at actions by ICE so far in the state, and feature witnesses who have had encounters with ICE.
It's not clear whether GOP members will attend, nor whether Democratic members can take official actions on the committee's behalf.
— Dana Ferguson, MPR News
7:15 p.m. Thursday | Judge orders release of Garrison Gibson
A Minneapolis man is out of jail Thursday, days after masked federal agents illegally broke down his door and arrested him.
On Sunday morning, agents carrying a battering ram but no judicial warrant smashed through Garrison Gibson's front door in north Minneapolis.
Authorities handed the 38-year-old Liberian man an order for removal in 2009. But they allowed him to remain in the U.S. provided he submit to GPS monitoring and check in regularly with ICE, which he did.
On Monday, Judge Jeffrey Bryan ordered ICE not to move Gibson out of Minnesota, but the agency sent him to Texas anyway before returning him to a Minnesota jail.
Thursday, Bryan ordered ICE to release Gibson, whom the judge found has no criminal record, and said the government lawyers missed an 11 a.m. deadline to respond to his petition for release.
Bryan also found that authorities never gave Gibson any explanation of what circumstances had changed to justify his detention.
— Matt Sepic, MPR News
5:30 p.m. Thursday | 911 logs reveal chaos, trauma after ICE agent fatally shot Macklin Good
Documents released by the city of Minneapolis on Thursday paint a picture of the chaotic scene following the fatal shooting of Renee Macklin Good last week by federal immigration agent Jonathan Ross.
“ICE, ICE fired shots into her windshield,” a caller told 911 as the operator urged them to catch their breath.
Public safety dispatch logs described multiple voices “yelling/screaming” in the background as a series of witnesses called for help.
“We had officers stuck in a vehicle and we had agitators on scene,” a federal agent who gave his first name as Phillip told a dispatcher. “And we have shots fired by our locals.”
“Do you have a description of the shooter?” the operator asked.
“No, I don’t have any of that stuff,” he replied, explaining he had gotten the information second hand. “We’re just trying to get assistance.”
“Still [attempting] to figure out who[’]s in charge,” another entry in the dispatch log read.
A crowd began to gather, and people threw snow and ice at the federal agents — but not, the dispatch entry noted, at the Minneapolis police. Two squad cars were reported as having their tires slashed, however.
“Contact who is in charge of feds and have them leave scene,” the dispatch log said, later adding, “crowd calmed down now that ICE is gone.”
— Curtis Gilbert, APM Reports
