MINNEAPOLIS — Less than 24 hours after federal authorities declared victory in one of the largest immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota history, Governor Tim Walz is demanding that the Biden administration cover more than $4.3 million in costs tied to the operation, including police overtime and rental assistance for affected families.
Operation Metro Surge, which concluded Wednesday, resulted in the arrests of more than 4,000 criminal illegal aliens, the location of 3,364 missing unaccompanied migrant children, and active participation from 87 local sheriffs across the state, according to White House border czar Tom Homan.
“Local law enforcement stepped up in a big way,” Homan said in a statement. “This was a coordinated, intelligence-driven effort that took dangerous criminals off the streets and brought missing kids back into the system. The cooperation we saw from Minnesota sheriffs was outstanding.”
But Walz, who has long positioned himself as a defender of immigrant communities, struck a very different tone Thursday morning.
“The federal government conducted this operation in our state without adequate coordination or warning, and Minnesota taxpayers and cities are left holding the bag,” Walz said in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security. “We’re seeking full reimbursement for the $4.3 million in Minneapolis police overtime, emergency rental aid for families displaced by enforcement actions, and resources to address the broader economic disruption.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, whose city saw several high-profile raids and temporary hotel takeovers used as staging areas, struck a more conciliatory note.
“Our residents showed remarkable patience through weeks of protests, traffic disruptions, and hotel relocations,” Frey said. “They endured a lot. But the operation is over, and now we need to move forward together.”
The operation was not without serious controversy.
It triggered widespread protests in Minneapolis and St. Paul, multiple lawsuits alleging excessive force, and the deaths of two U.S. citizens who were observing the raids and were fatally shot by federal agents. More than a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned in protest, citing what they called “unprecedented overreach.”
Despite the turmoil, both sides claimed success.
Homan called the operation a “model” for future enforcement nationwide. Walz’s office said the governor’s demand for reimbursement was “about accountability, not politics.”
Federal investigations into the two shootings and the resignations are ongoing.
The White House has not yet responded to Walz’s reimbursement request.
