Operation Metro Surge — Intelligence Report¶

Classification: PUBLIC
Date: 2026-02-13
Confidence: HIGH
Status: ACTIVE — Operation declared concluded 2026-02-12; drawdown underway
Author: oilcloth

Summary¶

On February 12, 2026, White House border czar Tom Homan announced the conclusion of Operation Metro Surge, the largest immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history. Launched December 4, 2025, the operation deployed up to 3,000 federal agents to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area — twenty times the normal ICE footprint of 150 agents, and five times the size of the Minneapolis Police Department.

Over 71 days, federal agents arrested more than 4,000 people. Two U.S. citizens — Renée Nicole Macklin Good and Alex Jeffrey Pretti — were shot and killed by federal immigration agents. Federal prosecutors resigned en masse. A federal judge found ICE violated at least 96 court orders. The Twin Cities economy lost an estimated $10–$20 million per week.

The operation ended not because it achieved its stated goals, but because two American deaths made it politically untenable.

Timeline¶

December 2025¶

Date	Event
Dec 1–3	DHS launches Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities
Dec 4	ICE reports initial 12 arrests; claims targeting "worst of the worst"
Dec 6	Federal agents enter a Burnsville home, arrest four people including parents of a 7-year-old
Dec 8	Trump links operation to alleged Somali community fraud cases
Dec 9–10	Two U.S. citizens detained and later released
Dec 13	DHS claims 400 arrests
Dec 17	Six Twin Cities residents file federal class action (Hussen v. Noem)
Late Dec	Protests grow across the Twin Cities

January 2026¶

Date	Event
Jan 5	2,000+ additional agents deployed; operation expanded statewide
Jan 6	DHS calls it "the largest immigration enforcement operation ever carried out"
Jan 7	Renée Nicole Macklin Good, 37, shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross
Jan 8	DHS claims 1,500 arrests
Jan 13	Majority of U.S. Attorney's Office leadership resigns, including lead fraud prosecutor Joe Thompson
Jan 15	DHS Secretary Noem: "No plans to pull out of Minnesota"
Jan 18	Protesters enter St. Paul church during Sunday service
Jan 19	DHS claims 3,000 arrests
Jan 23	Statewide "ICE Out of Minnesota" demonstrations; tens of thousands protest in subzero temperatures; hundreds of businesses close
Jan 24	Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, ICU nurse at Minneapolis VA, shot and killed by CBP agents
Jan 28	Federal Judge Schiltz finds ICE violated at least 96 court orders
Jan 30	DOJ Civil Rights Division opens investigation into Pretti's death

February 2026¶

Date	Event
Feb 3	DHS claims 4,000+ arrests
Feb 4	Homan announces 700-agent drawdown (25% reduction)
Feb 6	Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino demoted and removed from Minnesota
Feb 12	Homan announces Operation Metro Surge will conclude; full drawdown over the next week

The Dead¶

Renée Nicole Macklin Good¶

Age: 37
Citizenship: United States
Date of death: January 7, 2026
Location: South Minneapolis
Killed by: ICE agent Jonathan Ross, ERO Special Response Team, 10+ years as deportation officer
Official claim: Good "weaponized her car" and attempted to run over an officer
Evidence: Bystander video showed Good trying to pull away in her vehicle
Investigation status: DOJ declined to open a civil rights investigation. FBI controls the case and has refused to share evidence with state investigators. Federal prosecutors were directed to investigate Good's widow for possible charges — triggering mass resignations.
FBI resignation: Acting FBI supervisor Tracee Mergen of the Minneapolis Public Corruption Squad resigned partly over pressure to discontinue the Good shooting investigation

Alex Jeffrey Pretti¶

Age: 37
Citizenship: United States
Occupation: ICU nurse, Minneapolis VA Medical Center
Date of death: January 24, 2026
Location: Minneapolis, during protest against ICE enforcement
Killed by: CBP agents Jesus "Jesse" Ochoa, 43 (Border Patrol agent since 2018) and Raymundo Gutierrez, 35 (CBP officer since 2014)
Circumstances: Pretti was filming agents with his phone and directing traffic. He stood between an agent and a woman who had been pushed to the ground. He was pepper-sprayed, tackled, and pinned by approximately six agents. Agents fired approximately 10 shots within 5 seconds, continuing after he lay motionless.
Pretti was legally carrying a handgun. Reuters, BBC, NYT, CNN, and The Guardian all concluded from video evidence he was holding a cell phone, not a gun, in the moments before being tackled.
Investigation status: DOJ Civil Rights Division investigating. CBP withheld agent names from Congress and state/local law enforcement. Both agents on administrative leave.
Command accountability: Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino was demoted and pulled from Minnesota after the shooting

Arrest Data Analysis¶

Official Claims vs. Reality¶

Metric	DHS Claim	Independent Analysis
Total arrests	4,000+	Only 335 names publicly identified
"Worst of the worst"	Repeated in every press release	5% had violent crime records (103 of 2,000 as of January)
Targeted Somali fraud	Central justification	Only 23 of 4,000 arrestees were Somali; zero tied to fraud investigations
Average daily arrests	61.5 over 65 days	—

Who Was Actually Arrested¶

Persons detained included:
- Restaurant, airport, and hotel workers
- Target employees
- Children and families
- Native Americans
- Students and commuters
- U.S. citizens
- Legal permanent residents
- Asylum seekers with pending cases

The "Prison Pipeline" Inflation¶

Analysis of publicly identified arrests revealed:
- Disproportionate arrests in small towns hosting federal prisons (Sandstone, Rochester)
- Some individuals on ICE's arrest list were transferred from state custody before December 2025
- One individual had been transferred in 2003 — counted as a Metro Surge arrest

The Detention Pipeline¶

Stage 1: Arrest¶

Warrantless arrests by agents in unmarked vehicles, often masked. Racial profiling documented — Somali and Latino communities disproportionately targeted.

Stage 2: Whipple Federal Building (Fort Snelling)¶

Processing facility designed for 12-hour holds, repurposed as multi-day detention:
- 100 people crammed into rooms designed for 20
- Overflowing toilets without privacy
- No beds; detainees sleeping in handcuffs
- Limited food (twice in 20 hours)
- Reported beatings

Stage 3: Air Transport to Texas¶

80–120 detainees per flight, handcuffed and shackled
Often within hours of arrest — before processing was complete
Multiple transfers occurred in violation of court orders

Stage 4: Texas Detention¶

ERO Camp East Montana (Fort Bliss, El Paso)
- Physical and sexual assault allegations
- Worms in food; frozen meals causing illness
- Sewage flooding eating areas
- Medication withheld; doctors require collapse before treatment
- One roll of toilet paper daily for 72 people
- Officers offering $2,600–$3,000 for self-deportation
- Threats of deportation to "Sudan," "El Salvador," or "Guantanamo Bay"
- Multiple deaths, including one ruled homicide and one suicide of a Minnesota detainee

South Texas Family Detention Center (Dilley, TX)
- Lights on 24 hours in children's sleeping areas
- Moldy vegetables with worms; children malnourished
- Children exhibiting self-harm and behavioral regression
- Staff threatening family separation
- 5-year-old Minnesotan Liam Conejo Ramo detained; 18-month-old hospitalized with respiratory failure

Stage 5: Release¶

Detainees released into Minnesota winter (−10°F wind chill) without phones, coats, or transportation. Released at night at the Whipple Building. Some abandoned on streets of Texas.

Economic Impact¶

Metric	Figure
Weekly revenue loss (Twin Cities)	$10–$20 million
Lake Street corridor revenue loss (Dec–Jan)	$46 million
Business revenue decline (year-over-year)	Up to 80%
Restaurants: sales decline	50–80%
Businesses temporarily closed (LEDC survey of 92)	~30
Businesses with reduced hours/staff	40+
Governor's proposed relief package	$10 million

Legal Actions¶

Federal Lawsuits Filed¶

Hussen v. Noem (D. Minn., 0:26-cv-00324) — Class action, 29 sworn declarations; 100% had legal status or pending status
State of Minnesota v. Noem (D. Minn., 0:26-cv-00190) — AG Ellison + cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul v. DHS
Advocates for Human Rights v. DHS (D. Minn., 0:26-cv-00749)
U.H.A. v. Bondi (D. Minn., 0:26-cv-00417)
Jara Llangari v. Bondi (D. Minn., 0:26-cv-00962)
X.D.B. v. Noem (D. Minn., 26-588)
Guled v. Noem (D. Minn., 0:26-cv-00301)
Colesnic v. Lyons (D. Minn., 0:26-cv-00166)
Flores v. Bondi (C.D. Cal.) — Challenge to family detention conditions

Judicial Findings¶

Federal Judge Patrick Schiltz found ICE violated at least 96 court orders in Minnesota since January 1, 2026
Courts ordered release of detainees who were then transferred in violation of those orders
Judicial orders required special protective language after detainees were released into dangerous cold

Institutional Damage¶

Federal Prosecutor Resignations¶

Wave 1 (January 13): Six career prosecutors including:
- Joe Thompson — Lead prosecutor of $250M Feeding Our Future fraud case, former acting U.S. Attorney
- Harry Jacobs, Daniel Bobier, Matthew Ebert — All four Feeding Our Future lead prosecutors left

Wave 2 (February): Up to eight additional prosecutors

Cause: Directives to investigate Renée Good's widow rather than her killer; blocking state investigators; politicization of cases

Result: Minneapolis U.S. Attorney's Office reduced from 70 assistant U.S. attorneys (Biden era) to as few as 17. The $250M Feeding Our Future fraud prosecution — the original justification for the operation — left to junior attorneys.

FBI Resignation¶

Tracee Mergen, acting FBI supervisor of the Minneapolis Public Corruption Squad, resigned over pressure to discontinue the Good investigation

DOJ Civil Rights Division¶

Six+ supervisors resigned after learning there would be no civil rights investigation into Good's killing

Key Personnel¶

Federal Officials¶

Name	Role	Status
Tom Homan	White House Border Czar	Personally overseeing drawdown from Minneapolis
Kristi Noem	DHS Secretary	Named defendant in multiple lawsuits
Gregory Bovino	Border Patrol Commander, Metro Surge	Demoted and removed after Pretti killing
Jonathan Ross	ICE ERO SRT agent	Killed Renée Good; not under civil rights investigation
Jesus "Jesse" Ochoa	CBP Border Patrol agent	Killed Alex Pretti; on administrative leave
Raymundo Gutierrez	CBP officer	Killed Alex Pretti; on administrative leave

Minnesota Officials¶

Name	Role	Position
Jacob Frey	Minneapolis Mayor	Fierce opposition throughout; declared victory
Tim Walz	Minnesota Governor	"The long road to recovery starts now"
Keith Ellison	Minnesota Attorney General	Filed suit; testified two of three 2026 Minneapolis homicides committed by ICE agents
Patrick Schiltz	Chief U.S. District Judge	Found 96+ court order violations
Elliott Payne	Minneapolis City Council President	"I don't believe a word that comes out of Homan's mouth"
Todd Barnette	Community Safety Commissioner	Called for accountability
Mary Moriarty	Hennepin County Attorney	"We receive the news...with some skepticism"
Ilhan Omar	U.S. Representative	—

What Remains¶

Homan's February 12 announcement specified:

Full drawdown of surge agents over the next week
"Small footprint" remains temporarily for operational close-out
Criminal investigation personnel remain — targeting "agitators" (protesters)
Fraud investigation personnel remain — the original pretext
Routine ICE operations continue at normal levels (~150 agents)
Withdrawn agents will be reassigned to "deliver on President Trump's promise of border security and mass deportations"

Assessment: The operation is being rebranded as a success and the agents redeployed — not disbanded. The infrastructure for similar operations remains intact. The "agitator" investigations signal continued targeting of the protest movement.