Amended lawsuit lays out broader ICE abuses in Metro Surge
An amended federal lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Minnesota and Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota adds a sweeping set of new allegations against DHS, ICE and Border Patrol over Operation Metro Surge, accusing agents of unconstitutional home raids, traffic stops, use of force and interference with state and local authority across the Twin Cities. The filing details specific incidents: battering‑ram entries into homes with defective or no warrants; agents allegedly lying in affidavits; detaining U.S. citizens, asylum seekers and long‑settled residents; and blocking or gassing peaceful observers and legal monitors outside Whipple and at street protests. It also adds fresh plaintiffs, including people whose skulls were fractured or who were dragged half‑naked from homes, and attacks DHS’s use of mass data tools and license‑plate readers to target neighborhoods. The suit, which previously focused more narrowly on legal‑access and facial‑recognition issues, now explicitly asks the court to rein in Metro Surge tactics as systemic Fourth and First Amendment violations and as an unconstitutional attempt to commandeer Minnesota’s justice system. Social‑media reaction in the metro has quickly seized on the new complaint as a consolidated record of what residents have been posting in scattered videos and threads for weeks, and advocates are framing it as the main legal vehicle to force changes if the political fight stalls.
đź“Ś Key Facts
- The ACLU of Minnesota and Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota filed an amended complaint on Feb. 19, 2026 expanding their federal lawsuit against DHS, ICE and CBP over Operation Metro Surge.
- The amendment adds detailed allegations of warrantless or pretextual home entries, excessive force, detentions of U.S. citizens and asylum seekers, and retaliation against protesters and legal observers in Minneapolis–St. Paul.
- New plaintiffs include Twin Cities residents who say they suffered broken bones, traumatic brain and skull injuries, or were seized in front of children during door‑kicking raids tied to Metro Surge operations.
- The suit now challenges Metro Surge as a whole as violating the Fourth and First Amendments and federalism principles, and seeks court orders to curb or bar the tactics being used in the Twin Cities.
đź“Š Relevant Data
Since the start of Operation Metro Surge, DHS has arrested more than 4,000 illegal aliens in Minnesota, including murderers, sex offenders, and gang members.
DHS Reaches More than 4000 Arrests of Illegal Aliens Including Murderers, Sex Offenders, Gang Members — Department of Homeland Security
ProPublica has documented more than 170 improper arrests of U.S. citizens by ICE during the second Trump administration, including children.
Despite Budget Surge, ICE Fails to Make the Country Safer — Brennan Center
About 40% of ICE arrests over the past year involved people without criminal records.
Less than 14% of those arrested by ICE in Trump's 1st year back in office had violent criminal records — CBS News
Minnesota's population grew by 33,000 people to 5.83 million in 2025, with international immigration dropping to 12,000 from 25,000 the previous year.
Minnesota gains 33,000 residents in 2025 despite immigration drop — Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
From 2020 to 2024, over 81,000 new Americans moved to Minnesota, making immigration the primary driver of population change.
Immigration became the leading component of population growth in Minnesota this decade — Minnesota Chamber of Commerce
Recent homicide rates in Venezuela were 56 per 100,000, compared to 5 per 100,000 in the United States.
Immigration and violent crime — Brown University
Roughly 8 million Venezuelans have been forced to flee their homeland over the last decade due to extreme corruption and criminality of the government.
Day of Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees — Minnesota Conference of The United Methodist Church
The number of Venezuelan immigrants in the United States has nearly tripled since 2010, coinciding with a period of severe economic and political crisis.
Venezuelan Immigrants in the United States — Migration Policy Institute
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