Operation Metro Surge is a DHS-led interior immigration‑enforcement campaign launched in December 2025 to identify and arrest noncitizens in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area who are subject to removal. DHS/ICE characterize it as a large-scale surge that deploys personnel from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — including Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) — and personnel from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other DHS components; state and local officials have said thousands of federal agents were deployed. Participating DHS components named in public briefings and releases include ICE (ERO and HSI) and CBP (including Border Patrol/other CBP teams).
An ICE "detainer" (Form I-247) is a written request asking a state/local jail to hold an individual for up to 48 hours (excluding weekends/holidays) beyond when they would otherwise be released so ICE can assume custody for removal proceedings. It is an administrative request, not a federal warrant, and does not, by itself, legally compel compliance; jurisdictions may decline to honor detainers, and courts have held that detainers without independent probable‑cause or a judicial warrant can raise constitutional and legal issues.
Public DHS/ICE releases describe those arrested during Operation Metro Surge as "criminal illegal aliens," which generally refers to noncitizens encountered by ICE who have criminal convictions or are suspected of immigration violations. The actual immigration statuses vary case‑by‑case: examples in DHS releases include people with final orders of removal, prior deportation orders, and others charged with crimes who may be undocumented or visa overstays. DHS/ICE statements and prior ICE reporting show arrests include noncitizens with prior removal orders, criminal convictions, and people without lawful status; the specific legal status for each named person is not always published in the release.
Tricia McLaughlin is the Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security who is identified in the DHS news release; Assistant Secretaries at DHS lead specific offices or directorates within the Department. The DHS release identifies her as Assistant Secretary (the release does not state a sub‑office in the text); DHS leadership pages list senior officials and their offices. (The DHS press release is the primary public source naming her.)
DHS does not publish a single public standard called "known suspected terrorist." Labels about terrorism in DHS releases typically reflect internal intelligence or law‑enforcement assessments (e.g., information from DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis, HSI, FBI or partner agencies). Use of terms like "known suspected terrorist" in public statements usually reflects an agency assessment based on classified or investigative information; DHS and federal partners rely on intelligence standards and interagency vetting, but the specific evidence and criteria for any individual label are generally not disclosed publicly.
Minnesota state and local policies vary by jurisdiction. "Sanctuary" practices in many U.S. cities and states limit local compliance with federal immigration detainers and requests (for example, declining to honor I-247 holds without a judicial warrant); Minnesota state and some city officials (e.g., Minneapolis, St. Paul) have publicly resisted full cooperation with ICE during Operation Metro Surge and the state has sued to stop the federal surge. Those local policies do not make it a crime to report immigration violations, but they often prohibit local agencies from using resources to enforce federal immigration law or automatically honoring detainers without a warrant. Specific rules depend on the local ordinance or agency policy.
wow.dhs.gov ("Worst of the Worst") is a DHS public webpage/section that highlights arrests and enforcement actions DHS describes as "worst of the worst" public‑safety threats; DHS uses it to publish case summaries, photos, and press materials about individuals arrested by ICE and other DHS components. It is an official DHS outreach/communications page, not a criminal‑case database or court record; details on individual cases reflect DHS/ICE assertions and are intended for public information and publicity.