Officials say up to 2,000 DHS personnel could rotate through the city during a monthlong enforcement and fraud operation tied to immigration violations and federal benefit abuse.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Trump administration is preparing to deploy a large contingent of federal immigration and law enforcement personnel to Minneapolis as part of an expanded crackdown on immigration violations and fraud, according to officials familiar with the operation.
Officials told CBS News that the initiative could ultimately involve close to 2,000 federal agents and officers drawn primarily from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division and Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm responsible for complex transnational crime and large-scale fraud cases. The operation is expected to last roughly 30 days and represents the administration’s first major urban enforcement surge of the year.
The deployment, which began Sunday, includes several hundred HSI agents, hundreds of ICE deportation officers, specialized tactical units known as Special Response Teams, and a layered command structure involving dozens of senior supervisors. Officials cautioned that the scale of the operation could increase as the month progresses, with as many as 600 HSI agents and up to 1,500 ICE officers rotating through the Minneapolis area. The Department of Homeland Security has not yet issued a formal public statement on the effort.
HSI agents participating in the surge are expected to focus heavily on suspected fraud, building on inspections carried out last month at dozens of locations across the Minneapolis region. The operation also follows “Operation Metro Surge,” an ICE enforcement campaign launched late last year that targeted individuals with existing deportation orders, including Somali nationals. As of December 19, DHS reported nearly 700 arrests connected to that earlier effort.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commander Gregory Bovino, who previously oversaw high-profile immigration operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, and New Orleans, is expected to travel to Minnesota to assist with coordination of the enforcement actions, according to officials briefed on the plans.
The federal response coincides with mounting scrutiny in Minnesota over years of high-profile fraud cases involving federally funded programs. Since 2021, prosecutors have charged more than 90 individuals in cases tied largely to nutrition, housing, and child care programs, securing more than 60 convictions. Authorities estimate alleged losses across those programs in the billions of dollars, with many cases centered within the state’s Somali immigrant community.
Reaction to the reported deployment spread quickly on social media after a post circulated citing the CBS report and describing a “30-day surge” of federal agents in Minneapolis, accompanied by commentary about the state’s political leadership, as shown in a post shared online.
President Donald Trump has previously spoken bluntly about Somali immigration. “I don’t want them in our country. I’ll be honest with you,” Trump said of Somali immigrants. “Their country’s no good for a reason. Their country stinks.”
Officials said the Minneapolis surge reflects a broader shift toward concentrated, city-focused enforcement operations as the administration moves to intensify immigration and fraud investigations nationwide.
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