ICE Melts in the Minneapolis Winter
Now it’s time to abolish the agency and impeach Kristi Noem.
Protesters march during a “Nationwide Shutdown” demonstration against ICE enforcement on January 30, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
(Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)The people of Minneapolis raised their voices in glorious opposition to the federal occupation of their city with such energy, and such beauty, that the whole world heard their cry for justice. And they never let up. Just days before Donald Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan formally announced that the Department of Homeland Security’s deadly surge of thousands of armed and masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into their city would end, 1,600 Minnesotans had filled the cavernous Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis with the chorus of their singing resistance:
Hold on
Hold on
My dear one
Here comes the dawn…
When the dawn came on Thursday, after more than two months of violence and cruelty—which included thousands of arrests, detentions and deportations, and the killing of poet and mother of three Renee Good and intensive care nurse Alex Pretti—Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey came as close as a Minnesotan can to declaring victory.
“They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation. These patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it’s not just about resistance—standing with our neighbors is deeply American,” said the mayor, who in January announced, “To ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis!”
“This operation has been catastrophic for our neighbors and businesses, and now it’s time for a great comeback,” said Frey. “We will show the same commitment to our immigrant residents and endurance in this reopening, and I’m hopeful the whole country will stand with us as we move forward.”
Frey added, “The people that deserve the credit for this operation ending is the 435,000 residents that call Minneapolis home.” He’s right. The peaceful resistance to the Department of Homeland Security’s surge of 3,000 ill-trained and irresponsible ICE and Customs and Border Protection agents into the city—with mass marches, neighborhood watches, and mutual aid networks to support threatened neighbors—was as resilient as it was beautiful. And it forms a model for resistance in the cities that may next be targeted.
Yet Frey was also correct to describe the damage that had been done by more than two months of federal occupation as “catastrophic.”
In addition to the killings, the arrests and detentions, and the deportations of men, women and children, the economic impact of the DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s “Operation Metro Surge” was overwhelming. The fear that gripped the city was palpable. Workers and customers were afraid to come out of their homes, leaving restaurants and shops struggling to remain open. “The long road to recovery starts now,” said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Thursday, as he announced a plan to provide “$10 million in direct relief to help businesses impacted by ‘Operation Metro Surge’ to stabilize, protect jobs and get back on solid footing.”
In a nation led by responsible adults with a modicum of interest in public service, that relief would be coupled with federal financial aid. But President Trump and the Republican Congress are still scheming to give Noem and her henchmen more money to expand ICE operations. Perhaps they have recognized their mistake in targeting Minneapolis, but they have not learned their lesson. And they have not been held to account.
Popular
“swipe left below to view more authors”Swipe →“Operation Metro Surge is ending because Minnesotans fought back,” said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who added, “We still deserve transparency, and Renee Good and Alex Pretti deserve justice. I will continue to demand independent investigations into their deaths and every excessive use of force by federal agents.”
That’s a vital piece of the accountability equation. But it does not stop there, as US Representative Ilhan Omar explained.
“Two of my constituents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed by federal immigration enforcement agents. A third was shot under questionable circumstances. Thousands were tear-gassed and shot with less-lethal weapons and harassed by masked agents. What we witnessed was not law enforcement—it was militarized racial terror unleashed on the streets of Minnesota as a deliberate attempt to demonize the Somali community,” said Omar.
“‘Operation ‘Metro Surge’ has exposed just how far ICE is willing to go to intimidate and terrorize Black, Brown, and immigrant communities in our state. Nearly all Somalis in Minnesota are citizens, yet ICE agents harassed residents demanding proof of papers and, when citizens sought to document these unlawful stops, they were met with lethal force. Latino, Asian, and other communities of color were forced into hiding regardless of their status, and those who dared to live their lives, were often arrested with no cause. That was not public safety. That was an authoritarian abuse of power.”
Omar argues, “Nothing about what we witnessed was normal. Businesses are reeling from the economic devastation. Families are shattered. Children will carry the trauma of federal agents descending on their neighborhoods for the rest of their lives. The pain inflicted on this community will not fade—it will remain etched in their memory as the moment their own government turned against them.”
Accountability, the representative says, requires bold action. It is time, she explains, “to move to abolish this rogue agency so that no community in America is ever terrorized like this again.”
Omar has also backed House Resolution 996, which seeks to impeach the DHS secretary for high crimes and misdemeanors. As of this week, 187 members of the House have signed on as cosponsors of the resolution—making it one of the most widely supported impeachment initiatives in American history.
Declaring, “I won’t rest until we can ensure this abuse of power and terror can never happen again,” Omar says, “There must be justice and accountability. This administration must fully cooperate with independent investigations into the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Congress must withhold funding for unlawful actions and ensure federal dollars never bankroll civil-rights violations. We should be hauling cabinet secretaries and agency heads before congressional committees and demanding sworn testimony. They must explain who authorized these actions, what legal justifications were used, and why constitutional protections were ignored.”
Support The Nation’s June Fundraising Campaign
With the midterm elections now firmly upon us, the question is whether Democratic candidates will do more than merely occupy ballot lines as mild alternatives to the red-hot crisis that is Donald Trump.
As Trump spends over $1 billion a day on a globally destabilizing war on Iran and admits that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation,” millions across the country are struggling with the surging costs of essentials. Democrats must seize this moment and advance bold, small-“d” populist ideas—not settle for cynical caution that once again snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.
The Nation elevates progressive ideas, movements, and elected officials achieving real change across the country into the national conversation. At the same time, our journalists are exposing how crypto and AI-funded super PACs are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to knock out candidates they oppose, reporting on the devastating impact of the Supreme Court’s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act, and sounding the alarm on attempts by red states to quickly redraw electoral maps, disenfranchising Southern Black voters.
We can play this critical role because of support from readers like you. This June, we’re raising $20,000 to power The Nation’s independent journalism in the run-up to November’s immensely consequential elections.
It’s in our power to build a more just society, and your support at this critical moment brings us closer to that bold vision. I hope you’ll donate today.
Onward,
Katrina vanden Huevel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation
More from The Nation
Inside the Anti-ICE Protests at Delaney Hall Inside the Anti-ICE Protests at Delaney Hall
As federal agents increase the use of force at the facility, demonstrators are adopting new tactics.
The American Revolution’s Long Tail The American Revolution’s Long Tail
Throughout US history, social movements—from reformist to radical—have returned to the language and ideals of 1776.
How to Win the Next 250 Years for the Working Class How to Win the Next 250 Years for the Working Class
It begins with building back a strong union movement
rooted in deep solidarity.
Jane Fonda: My Life of Protest Jane Fonda: My Life of Protest
What I’ve learned about America from six decades in the struggle.
These College Students Are Getting in ICE’s Way These College Students Are Getting in ICE’s Way
Brown students have formed a neighborhood organizing group that uses courthouse patrols, rapid-response alerts, and mass mobilization to disrupt ICE’s Rhode Island operations.
Israel Tortured These Activists. Now They're Speaking Out. Israel Tortured These Activists. Now They're Speaking Out.
Multiple Gaza flotilla activists describe severe violence and psychological torment while in Israeli detention.
