ICE reports arresting more U.S. citizens during Metro Surge
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Federal agents detain someone in Minneapolis in January. Photo: Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via Getty Images
ICE agents in Minnesota arrested 131 U.S. citizens for allegedly assaulting federal officers during Operation Metro Surge, but the vast majority of those cases went nowhere in court, the agency's acting director recently disclosed.
Why it matters: That arrest total means more U.S. citizens in Minnesota were caught in the Trump administration's immigration dragnet — and never criminally charged — than previously thought.
- The number of citizens ICE reported rounding up is higher than most independent attempts by watchdogs or journalists to tally Operation Metro Surge arrests have found so far.
Driving the news: Acting ICE director David Venturella made this disclosure to Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Angie Craig in an Aug. 18 letter shared first with Axios.
- The two Democrats had been pressing for details on the agency's handling of detainees.
Zoom in: Between Jan. 8 and May 20, only 44 of the 131 citizens arrested were accepted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for prosecution on charges of impeding an officer, Venturella reported.
- Of these cases, the agency listed 14 as still active as of May 20, and the rest were either "dismissed, resolved through pre-trial diversion, or declined," the letter read.
What they're saying: "This was not targeted enforcement. It was indiscriminate, unlawful, and a profound misuse of federal power," Omar told Axios in a statement.
The other side: "Our law enforcement officers are facing a coordinated campaign of violence against them," a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement.
- The statement did not offer an explanation for the dropped prosecutions, referring questions to the Justice Department.
The big picture: Beyond the citizen arrest counts, the letter represents one of the most comprehensive accountings from within ICE itself of the numbers of arrests, detentions and deportations stemming from Operation Metro Surge.
By the numbers: ICE reported arresting 4,674 noncitizens during Operation Metro Surge, just under 40% of whom (1,864) had criminal histories.
- Most were booked into ICE custody, where their average stay spanned 39.9 days, Venturella wrote.
- About half of the arrested noncitizens had been deported as of June 17.
The intrigue: The letter also partially confirmed some of the reporting by activist Nick Benson, whose documentation of ICE charter flights from MSP Airport is seen as a real-time barometer of immigration enforcement activity.
- In its letter, ICE reported 18 flights through MSP between Feb. 12 and March 18 — which matches Benson's database.
Yes, but: Craig and Omar have been pushing ICE to allow advocates and family members more direct access to detainees, as they argue the law requires.
- "The numbers underscore the injustice" of ICE's enforcement, Omar said, and both she and Craig questioned why it took months to obtain the information.
- "Minnesotans deserve transparency," Craig told Axios in a statement, "and this delayed and insufficient response is further proof that Trump's ICE wants to hide how they are operating behind closed doors."