Minnesota ICE Crackdown

DHS and Border Patrol publicized arrests in "Operation Metro Surge," releasing a curated list of detainees — including convicted sex offenders and other prior offenders — and framing the sweep as taking the "worst of the worst" off the streets, a narrative Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin tied to local non‑cooperation with ICE detainers and that has been echoed by the White House and GOP surrogates; Minnesota Democrats and local officials have denounced the raids as politically toxic and say they have terrified communities, with Hmong businesses reporting 60–70% revenue losses and residents saying children are being kept home. The enforcement wave has been marked by violent incidents and contested law‑enforcement accounts: DHS alleges a protester bit off an HSI officer’s finger and officials described assaults on officers, while CBP told Congress two officers fired in the fatal Alex Pretti encounter even as internal reports do not allege Pretti fired his weapon and note irregular handling of his handgun.

The Eighth Circuit panel held that DOJ’s affidavits establish probable cause to charge five additional defendants — including former CNN anchor Don Lemon — in the disruption of a St. Paul church that targeted an ICE field‑office official, but declined DOJ’s unprecedented request to compel a district judge to sign arrest warrants. Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz rejected DOJ’s “emergency” framing (warning of “copycats”), called the worst alleged conduct protesters “yelling horrible things” with no violence, and noted DOJ has other remedies such as grand‑jury indictments or revised affidavits.