The Trump administration has said Metro Surge was a success and was necessary to get “vicious criminals, including murderers, rapists, gang members, and terrorists” out of the country.
By mid-February, a thousand federal agents had left the state and hundreds more followed, with only a “small force” remaining “for a short period”.
While ICE’s presence in the city has diminished, agents are still around. In a March lawsuit, the federal government said there were still 482 agents in Minnesota, according to the plaintiff, ACLU-MN. Additionally, about 190 federal agents worked in ICE’s St Paul office before Metro Surge, the ACLU said.
Border Czar Tom Homan said that, “moving forward, ICE will be conducting targeted immigration enforcement operations” like it has done “for decades”. ICE told the BBC that it does not disclose information about its operations.
The presence of federal agents is still seen and felt, particularly in more rural areas, said Morgan Budiandri, of MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC).
“The deportation machine has kind of turned more surgical, so to speak. There’s less activity in the cities where there’s a lot more prying eyes,” Budiandri said. “But out in the suburbs, we still have reports of officers coming to businesses demanding to see a manifesto of undocumented employees.”