ICE reports a rise in US citizen arrests during its latest Metro Surge operation

131 U.S. citizens were arrested

ICE agents in Minnesota arrested 131 U.S. citizens during Operation Metro Surge. The agency said the arrests involved allegations of assaulting or impeding federal officers. Acting ICE director David Venturella later disclosed the total in a letter. Most of those arrests did not lead to federal criminal prosecution.

The disclosure adds new detail to the known scope of the immigration operation. The U.S. citizens were arrested during the enforcement campaign over alleged conduct involving federal officers, rather than immigration violations. The arrests occurred between Jan. 8 and May 20, according to reporting based on ICE’s response to lawmakers.

New figures expand the public record

ICE’s disclosure shows that 131 U.S. citizens were arrested during Operation Metro Surge over alleged conduct involving federal officers. The number is higher than previous tallies compiled by journalists and watchdog organizations.

The agency’s accounting gives lawmakers and the public additional information about arrests connected to the operation. ICE’s letter also provided prosecution, detention, deportation and flight data that had not previously been available together in one agency response.

ICE shared the figures with lawmakers

Acting ICE director David Venturella sent the disclosure on Aug. 18. The letter went to Representatives Ilhan Omar and Angie Craig. Both lawmakers had requested more information about detainees. Axios first reported on the agency’s response.

The lawmakers are Democrats representing Minnesota districts. Their questions focused on how ICE handled people taken into custody. The letter addressed arrests, prosecutions, detention, and deportations. It offered one of the agency’s clearest accounts of Metro Surge so far.

Only 44 cases reached prosecutors

Of the 131 citizens arrested, 44 were accepted for prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The reported charge was impeding an officer. ICE said this happened between Jan. 8 and May 20. That means most citizen arrests did not move forward for federal prosecution.

The difference between arrests and accepted cases is notable. An arrest does not itself mean a person will face criminal charges. Prosecutors decide which cases they will pursue. ICE’s figures show many citizen cases stopped before federal prosecution.

Most citizen cases did not continue

ICE listed 14 of the accepted cases as still active on May 20. The agency said other cases were dismissed, resolved through pretrial diversion, or declined. That left far fewer active prosecutions than the original arrest count. The figures describe the status of cases at that point.

A declined case means prosecutors chose not to bring charges. Dismissed cases were also no longer moving forward in court. Pretrial diversion can resolve a case outside a traditional prosecution. The letter did not provide a detailed explanation for every outcome.

Lawmakers called for transparency

Representative Ilhan Omar said the arrests showed what she viewed as indiscriminate enforcement. She argued the operation represented a misuse of federal power. Her comments followed the release of ICE’s figures. She also questioned the agency’s approach to immigration enforcement.

Representative Angie Craig also criticized the delayed response from ICE. She said Minnesotans deserve more transparency about federal operations. Both lawmakers had been seeking information for months. Their statements focused on access, accountability, and the handling of detainees.

DHS says officers faced violence

The Department of Homeland Security offered a different view of the arrests. A spokesperson said law enforcement officers faced a coordinated campaign of violence. The department did not explain why many citizen cases were dropped. Instead, it directed questions about prosecutions to the Justice Department.

The response shows a clear divide over how the arrests should be understood. ICE described the people through allegations involving federal officers. Congressional critics focused on the number of cases that did not proceed. The available letter does not resolve that disagreement.

Metro Surge also arrested noncitizens

ICE reported 4,674 noncitizens arrested during Operation Metro Surge. Just under 40% of those people, or 1,864, had criminal histories. The figures cover the operation described in Venturella’s letter. They provide context for the much smaller citizen arrest total.

Most arrested noncitizens were booked into ICE custody. Their average stay was 39.9 days, according to the letter. Those numbers show the operation involved thousands of people. They also provide a broader view of the enforcement campaign in Minnesota.

Fun fact: ICE reported that 1,864 of the 4,674 noncitizens arrested during Operation Metro Surge had criminal histories.

About half had been deported

ICE said about half of the noncitizens arrested had been deported as of June 17. That figure was part of the agency’s broader accounting. Deportation numbers help show what happened after the initial arrests. The letter did not say every person had the same immigration status.

The timeline also matters when reading the figures. Arrests occurred earlier in the operation, while the deportation count was measured later. That gap allowed cases to move through the immigration system. ICE’s numbers therefore describe different stages of enforcement activity.

MSP flights matched an activist’s data

The ICE letter also addressed charter flights linked to immigration enforcement. The agency reported 18 flights through Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport between Feb. 12 and March 18. Those flights matched records maintained by activist Nick Benson. His tracking project follows immigration-enforcement flight activity from the airport.

Benson’s database has been used as a real-time measure of enforcement activity. ICE’s matching flight count provided partial confirmation of his records. The agreement covers the specific period listed by the agency and does not establish that every flight outside that period was counted.

Fun fact: Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport uses the airport code MSP, which comes from its earlier name, Minneapolis–St. Paul Metropolitan Airport.

Advocates sought more detainee access

Omar and Craig have also pushed ICE to give advocates and family members more direct access to detainees. They argue federal law requires greater access. Their requests go beyond the arrest numbers. They are also focused on how people are treated while in custody.

The lawmakers said the newly released numbers added to their concerns. Omar called the figures evidence of injustice. Craig said the delayed response did not provide enough transparency. Both questioned why obtaining basic information took months.

The letter gives a wider picture

Venturella’s letter goes beyond the 131 citizen arrests. It includes figures for arrests, detention stays, and deportations tied to Operation Metro Surge. That makes the document useful for understanding the operation’s overall scope. It also puts several previously reported figures into one official account.

The numbers can help separate confirmed agency data from outside estimates. They also show how enforcement activity changed from arrest to detention and deportation. At the same time, some details remain limited. The letter does not explain every individual case or prosecution decision.

Could ICE’s latest numbers raise more questions about how immigration enforcement is being carried out? See what new data reveals about ICE arrest rates among Latino immigrants.

What the numbers show so far

The ICE figures add new detail to the debate over Metro Surge in Minnesota. They show 131 U.S. citizens were arrested, while 44 cases reached federal prosecutors. Only 14 of those cases were active as of May 20. ICE also reported 4,674 noncitizen arrests during the operation.

The agency said 1,864 noncitizens had criminal histories. About half of the arrested noncitizens had been deported by June 17. Eighteen MSP flights were reported during a specific period in the spring. Together, the figures offer a clearer snapshot of the operation’s reach and outcomes.

Curious about another case involving U.S. citizenship and ICE? See what happened when a Texas man returned after proving his citizenship.

What do you make of these ICE arrest figures? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the conversation.

This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.

Read More From This Brand:

• Internal records show that ICE raids are complicating police work and putting local officers at greater risk
• Concerns grow that ICE funding incentives may encourage widespread dragnet-style immigration enforcement efforts
• Portland residents and protesters lose a key round as appeals court halts tear gas restrictions near ICE again