Minnesota ups Metro Surge lawsuit, alleges $610M in damage and $243M in lost Twin Cities wages
Minnesota has amended its federal lawsuit over ICE's Operation Metro Surge, claiming $610 million in damages and $243 million in lost Twin Cities wages.
The state says the amended complaint, filed in January and updated this spring, breaks the $243 million in lost wages into $189 million in Minneapolis and $54 million in St. Paul. The filing newly names current Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and former DHS secretary Kristi Noem as defendants. Attorney General Keith Ellison's office says the economic figures are based on research from UC San Diego's U.S. Immigration Policy Center. Ellison says the goal is a court declaration that the operation was unlawful and to block what he calls a future "federal occupation" of Minnesota.
Independent analysis of ICE internal data has been central to the dispute. That dataset, obtained through litigation and examined by the Deportation Data Project, shows roughly 3,800 arrests in Minnesota during the surge, with daily arrests peaking at over 100 in early January. Less than 25 percent of those arrested had any criminal convictions, about 13 percent had pending charges, and roughly 63 percent had no criminal record at all. ICE's data also shows more than 1,000 Ecuadorians were seized during the operation, drawn from thousands of pending immigration and asylum cases in the state. Advocates and some journalists point to high-profile cases, like the Columbia Heights family, as examples of people without criminal histories who were detained and later face deportation.
Coverage of the surge has shifted from data to politics. Early reporting focused on the raw ICE numbers and who was arrested, driven largely by local investigations such as FOX 9's examinations of internal ICE datasets. More recent pieces and responses have emphasized the political and legal fight over the operation, including Governor Tim Walz's creation of a council to document impacts and Alpha News' critiques that the council is partisan or meant to limit cooperation with federal authorities. Social media amplified both threads: immigration experts highlighted the 63 percent figure, conservative commentators highlighted removals of people with criminal records, and state officials framed the lawsuit and council as necessary to record harms to families and workers.
📌 Key Facts
- Minnesota amended its January federal lawsuit over Operation Metro Surge to allege $610 million in overall economic damage and $243 million in lost Twin Cities wages (broken out as $189 million in Minneapolis and $54 million in St. Paul).
- The amended complaint newly names current DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem as defendants.
- Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office says the economic-loss figures are based on research by UC San Diego’s U.S. Immigration Policy Center; Ellison says the suit aims to have Operation Metro Surge declared unlawful to prevent what he calls a future "federal occupation" of Minnesota.
- ICE internal data analyzed by the Deportation Data Project show about 3,800 people were arrested during Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, with arrests peaking at more than 100 per day in early January.
- Of those arrested, less than 25% had any criminal convictions (including misdemeanors and traffic violations), about 13% had pending charges, and more than 60% had no criminal record; ICE’s dataset indicates 63% with no criminal history also had no recorded immigration violations.
- The single largest nationality arrested were Ecuadorians: ICE picked up more than 1,000 Ecuadorians in Minnesota during the surge; state case loads include roughly 12,000 pending immigration cases and 1,900 asylum cases for Ecuadorians in Minnesota.
- The high‑profile Columbia Heights case of 5‑year‑old Liam Conejo Ramos and his family reflects this pattern — they had no criminal history, were seized during the surge, were released, later had asylum denied and now face deportation, with plans to appeal.
- Governor Tim Walz established a council to "document 'the Truth' about immigration enforcement," which critics (primarily conservatives) characterize as a one‑sided, partisan pushback against Operation Metro Surge designed more to attack federal enforcement than to be a neutral fact‑finding body and could be used to justify limiting cooperation with ICE.
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Minnesota has formally amended its January federal lawsuit over Operation Metro Surge to add detailed damage claims.
- The amended complaint now alleges $610 million in overall economic damage from the surge.
- It further alleges $243 million in lost wages, broken out as $189 million in Minneapolis and $54 million in St. Paul.
- The filing newly names current DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin as a defendant, alongside former secretary Kristi Noem.
- Ellison’s office says those economic-loss figures are based on research by UC San Diego’s U.S. Immigration Policy Center.
- Ellison states the goal is to have Operation Metro Surge declared unlawful to prevent what he calls a future "federal occupation" of Minnesota.
- Alpha News piece foregrounds Walz’s stated aim to document 'the Truth' about immigration enforcement, emphasizing the political and rhetorical framing more than prior coverage.
- It further highlights conservative criticism that the council is one‑sided or designed to attack federal enforcement rather than examine crimes by non‑citizens, sharpening the partisan battle lines around the council.
- The article characterizes the council as part of a broader pushback against Operation Metro Surge rather than a neutral fact‑finding effort, adding detail on opponents’ claims that the council could be used to justify limiting cooperation with ICE.
- ICE’s own internal data, obtained via litigation and analyzed by the Deportation Data Project, show about 3,800 people were arrested during Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, with arrests peaking at over 100 per day in early January.
- Less than 25% of those arrested had any criminal convictions at all (including misdemeanors and traffic violations), another 13% had pending charges, and more than 60% had no criminal record of any kind.
- The single largest nationality arrested was Ecuadorian: ICE picked up more than 1,000 Ecuadorians in Minnesota during the surge, drawn from roughly 12,000 pending immigration cases and 1,900 asylum cases for Ecuadorians in the state.
- ICE’s dataset indicates that the 63% with no criminal history also had no convictions or charges for immigration violations, meaning they were not previously on record as lawbreakers even under immigration codes.
- The high‑profile Columbia Heights case of 5‑year‑old Liam Conejo Ramos and his family fits this broader pattern: they have no criminal history, were seized during the surge, released, and now face deportation after an immigration judge denied their asylum claim; they plan to appeal.