The deployment of thousands of federal agents to Minnesota could result in a federal presence bigger than the largest local police forces combined.
"This is largest DHS operation in history -- we won't get into resources or numbers of personnel," a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told Newsweek.
The surge in federal officers has inflamed tensions in Minnesota following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by Jonathon Ross, a federal immigration agent, on January 7. The incident sparked widespread protests and political pushback, with state and local leaders saying that DHS agents have adopted aggressive tactics and indiscriminately detained residents.
DHS has significantly expanded its enforcement operations in Minnesota, particularly around the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, as part of what agency officials describe as its largest immigration operation ever.
DHS has publicly said that roughly 2,000 federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other Homeland Security components are already operating in the region. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said that hundreds more officers are on the way, potentially bringing the total federal footprint close to 3,000 personnel.
If that many are deployed in Minnesota, including roughly 2,000 ICE agents and 1,000 Customs and Border Protection officers, their presence could exceed the total number of officers across the metro area's 10 largest local police departments combined, according to an analysis by the Minnesota Star Tribune.
By contrast, the 10 largest Twin Cities metro police forces combined have 2,482 officers, according to the outlet.
The local totals include Minneapolis with 622 officers, St. Paul with 562, Hennepin County with 336, Ramsey County with 234, Anoka County with 154, Bloomington with 135, Washington County with 128, Metro Transit with 116, Brooklyn Park with 99 and the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport Police with 96.
The nonpartisan think tank Pew Research Center estimated in 2023 that Minnesota is home to about 130,000 immigrants without legal status, representing less than 1 percent of the undocumented population in the United States.
Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, on January 7: "ICE has committed an unspeakable act of violence today, shooting and killing a woman in South Minneapolis. These masked agents are out of control and creating real chaos in our state. ICE must leave Minnesota immediately—before more people are hurt. In the face of their violence, let us remain peaceful, calm, and united. Minnesotans will not allow Trump and his thugs to turn our communities into war zones."
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday: "We're sending more officers today, and tomorrow they'll arrive. There will be hundreds more in order to allow our ICE and our Border Patrol individuals that are working in Minneapolis to do so safely."