- 6 weeks ago
The North Star State has become ground zero for a national controversy. Join us as we break down Operation Metro Surge, the tragic killings that sparked outrage, and how federal forces have transformed Twin Cities communities. From controversial enforcement tactics to the Day of Truth & Freedom general strike, we're examining the key factors that have thrown Minnesota into turmoil.
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00:00This is a live look at a growing vigil tonight in Minneapolis for Alex Preddy, the man shot and killed Saturday morning by Border Patrol.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're breaking down everything you need to know about the key players, tragic incidents, and broader implications that have thrown the North Star State into a turmoil.
00:17Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite.
00:25Operation Metro Surge.
00:27So, operations continue.
00:28At the Whipple Building Friday, top U.S. immigration officer stood next to photos of people they call the worst of the worst, with alleged criminal pasts who have been arrested.
00:38It's for people that are just watching this and just see faces on these slides, and no names, and just the country they're from and an offense.
00:44How do you build trust in the community with some that might be skeptical when they don't know who these people are?
00:49Operation Metro Surge began in December 2025, bringing a large and highly visible federal deployment into the Twin Cities.
00:56The Department of Homeland Security has promoted the operation as a major enforcement success, citing thousands of arrests connected to immigration activity.
01:05On paper, that framing suggests a clear show of federal strength.
01:09On the ground, though, the reaction has been far more complicated.
01:13They're actually snatching people from the streets.
01:15Daniel Hernandez owns Colonial Market and Restaurant, which he says hasn't looked this empty since the pandemic.
01:20He says customers and employees alike are afraid to leave their homes.
01:24Many people say, oh, they're fearful because they don't have papers.
01:28No, that is not correct.
01:29They're fearful because they're Latinos being targeted by ICE.
01:33Residents and local reporting have described unmarked vehicles, tactical gear, and enforcement that feels closer to crowd control operations than routine policing.
01:42A federal judge has already moved to restrict certain agent conduct toward protesters and observers, underscoring how legally and politically fraught the surge has become.
01:52Just for context, a federal immigration judge in Minnesota on Friday ruled that federal immigration agents at ICE, Border Patrol and other federal agencies cannot arrest, detain, stop or retaliate against peaceful protesters who are not interfering with or obstructing federal immigration operations.
02:13The broader context of President Trump's immigration policy.
02:17We, of course, know that this president and other White House officials have blasted local officials, have blasted Democrats in particular, and called on them to cooperate with the federal government.
02:27In fact, the president did that over the weekend, also calling for Congress to pass legislation to ban so-called sanctuary cities.
02:35So this isn't in there quite yet, but certainly a shift in change where the president's sending his border czar, Tom Homan.
02:42And what's happening in Minnesota isn't simply a local flare-up.
02:45It's become a national flashpoint in the Trump administration's renewed push to aggressively reassert federal authority over immigration enforcement.
02:53Just a couple of weeks ago, after the death of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis,
02:59we had an entire briefing that was led by Vice President Vance, who had top officials labeling her a domestic terrorist without providing any evidence for that claim,
03:09and really defending the ICE officer in that specific instance.
03:14Operation Metro Surge is being described in Washington as a public safety initiative.
03:18But it's unfolding in a political climate where jurisdictions are under growing pressure to align with federal priorities.
03:25For residents, that broader context matters.
03:27Even when officials say they're focused on serious offenders, what people see on the ground is a visible, aggressive federal presence reshaping daily life.
03:37Minnesota has become a test case for how far federal enforcement can extend into local spaces,
03:43turning a policy fight into a deeply personal crisis for thousands of families.
03:47They are sowing chaos and violence.
03:51We've seen deadly violence from federal agents again and again and again.
03:55But in contrast to that on these frozen streets, what you witnessed yesterday was the best of Minnesotans,
04:01peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights.
04:04And I attended in the church basement hundreds of Minnesotans from all faith packing care packages for families that have been ripped apart.
04:13Federal agents outnumber local police.
04:16Actually, you might have some trouble hearing me.
04:18These police have just fired tear gas at the crowd.
04:21They've moved them back.
04:22But the organizers are waving them forward again.
04:25You see these metal tanisters on the ground here.
04:28They've been throwing them back at the state police and at local police.
04:32One of the most striking aspects of Operation Metro Surge has been the sheer imbalance between federal and local law enforcement on the ground.
04:40At the height of the operation, around 3,000 federal agents were deployed across the Twin Cities.
04:45A force that reporting shows outnumbered Minneapolis police officers by roughly 5 to 1.
04:50Local leaders and national media have described the environment as resembling a siege,
04:55with masked and heavily equipped federal agents becoming a routine presence in neighborhoods and downtown areas.
05:01For many residents, the overwhelming federal footprint created an atmosphere that felt less like targeted enforcement and more like violent occupation.
05:09Steve, what are they chanting?
05:12Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame!
05:17Shame! Get out pigs and get out ice!
05:21Okay.
05:22Yeah, we can see that they're moving back in.
05:24None of this is working.
05:26I mean, so far, we haven't seen these people, you know, leave.
05:32Controversial justifications.
05:33In remarks Vance made while visiting the city Thursday, the vice president accused the media of misrepresenting the event.
05:41How did we arrest a five-year-old?
05:42Well, I do a little bit more follow-up research.
05:44And what I find is that the five-year-old was not arrested, that his dad was an illegal alien.
05:50And then when they went to arrest his illegal alien father, the father ran.
05:54Federal officials argue that the surge is necessary to restore order and protect public safety.
06:00That framing has been central to DHS messaging and public statements from Washington.
06:05But on the local level, that justification has been met with deep skepticism.
06:09How many more lives need to be lost before this administration realizes that a political and partisan narrative is not as important as American values?
06:22How many times must local and national leaders must plead with you, Donald Trump, to end this operation and recognize that this is not creating safety in our city?
06:36State and city leaders, along with civil rights advocates, say the public safety rationale is being used to normalize a much broader enforcement footprint.
06:45That disagreement has now moved into the courts, with judges reviewing whether certain aspects of the operation cross constitutional boundaries.
06:53The result is a widening credibility gap.
06:55Rachel James, a local city council member who said she witnessed the incident, says Liam watched masked agents take his father from the driveway of their home before he, too, was taken.
07:05I can't imagine what was going through Liam's mind, but I can tell you what I saw on his face.
07:10He was frozen and paralyzed.
07:13He was not crying, but he looked so scared.
07:18Targeting of Minnesota's Somali population.
07:20President Trump in recent days has taken aim at Minnesota's Somali community with xenophobic remarks and calls for removal from the U.S.
07:28It coincides with a new ICE operation in the Twin Cities that's resulted in at least five arrests of Somali immigrants.
07:35Community groups and residents say enforcement activity has been especially visible in neighborhoods with large immigration populations, including parts of South Minneapolis and Cedar Riverside.
07:46For many families, the experience feels like collective suspicion rather than individualized enforcement.
07:52That sense of being singled out has fueled fear, anger and disengagement.
07:56I've been here since 1994.
08:00I was only three years old when I came.
08:02And this is my home.
08:04And this has got to stop.
08:05You came here to harass us?
08:07A few people here say they even notice what they believe to be federal agents circling around the property today.
08:13But authorities haven't confirmed that.
08:15Even without official acknowledgement of targeting, the lived experience has created a powerful narrative of discrimination.
08:22That perception has become a central catalyst for protests and a key reason why trust between residents and federal authorities has deteriorated so quickly during the crisis.
08:32Even Somali Americans who voted for Trump, like business owner Varus Mahmoud, expressed anger.
08:38We want he make America great, but not insulting the people he is the president.
08:45I want he change, you know, his tongue because he doesn't know us.
08:51Come over here, Donald Trump.
08:54You are our president.
08:55Come over here, have a tea, and you will learn who we are.
08:59Impact on public safety and local resources.
09:02People have had enough.
09:04This is the third shooting now in less than three weeks.
09:07The Minneapolis Police Department went the entire year last year, recovering about 900 guns from the street, arresting hundreds and hundreds of violent offenders, and we didn't shoot anyone.
09:19And now this is the second American citizen that's been killed.
09:22It's the third shooting within three weeks.
09:25Ironically, the surge has complicated everyday public safety instead of simplifying it.
09:29Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara has had to manage overlapping jurisdictions and strained coordination between local and federal agents.
09:37When command structures blur, routine policing becomes harder, not easier.
09:42Community organizations also report a chilling effect.
09:45Some city residents now hesitate to call police or emergency services at all, worried that any interaction could trigger federal involvement.
09:53That fear undermines one of the basic foundations of public safety, trust.
09:58Well, I think the greater concern is, no matter what happens with an investigation, is that there's a huge part of the public that have lost faith that the investigation would be impartial, and I think that's a very significant problem.
10:11When people are afraid to seek help, real emergencies can go unreported, and communities become less safe overall.
10:17The surge has created an environment where enforcement priorities and public safety needs are no longer clearly aligned.
10:25This is not sustainable.
10:26This police department has only 600 police officers.
10:30We are stretched incredibly thin.
10:32This is taking an enormous toll, trying to manage all of this chaos, on top of having to be the police department for a major city.
10:40It's too much.
10:42Killing of Renee Good.
10:43Officials said that an ICE officer was fearing for his life, and then fired defensive shots to save himself and his officers, which ultimately killed Renee Good.
10:54And so we do know that Renee Good, as known as a 37-year-old woman, who was there in the area, who was out and about as these ICE operations were going.
11:05The killing of Renee Good on January 7, 2026, became one of the most emotionally charged moments of the crisis.
11:13Good was killed during an encounter tied to immigration enforcement activity on Portland Avenue South in Minneapolis.
11:19Video footage quickly spread, turning the case into a national flashpoint.
11:23Federal accounts of the encounter have been sharply disputed by witnesses and by independent analysis of the footage.
11:30Our officer followed his training, did exactly what he's been taught to do in that situation, and took actions to defend himself.
11:37Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey had some choice words for the Trump administration's self-defense argument.
11:43Having seen the video of myself, I want to tell everybody directly.
11:47That is bull****.
11:48The gap between official narrative and public perception transformed the case into a symbol.
11:54For many protesters, Renee Good's death represents what they see as reckless federal tactics and a lack of accountability.
12:01Her killing personalized the crisis in a way policy debates never could.
12:05And so in the aftermath of this shooting, we've been watching as some protests have been breaking out, not only in the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas, but also across the country, with folks speaking out about some of these ICE operations that are happening in their local cities.
12:22Minnesota general strike of 2026.
12:25Public anger reached a new level on January 23rd, 2026 with the Day of Truth and Freedom.
12:30It is a day when every single Minnesotan will stand in solidarity and choose love and care for one another over hate and violence.
12:41And we will do so by refusing to work, to shop, and to go to school.
12:46Framed as a general strike or economic blackout, the action urged people across Minnesota to skip work and school and avoid spending as a form of protest against the federal surge.
12:56While it didn't literally shut down the entire state, tens of thousands participated, making it one of the largest coordinated protest actions Minnesota has seen in recent years.
13:05The safety of my students and their families, their inability to work and make money, getting groceries, paying their rent, and frankly, the violent tactics that are harming our communities.
13:18The symbolism was powerful. This wasn't just activists in the streets. It was workers, students, and families taking part in a shared act of resistance.
13:27The scale of the response showed how far frustration had spread beyond traditional protest circles and into the mainstream of public life.
13:34To the rest of the country, we urge you to join us in this moment. We can build a different world and a different country. No one built on hate, but rather on love and care for one another.
13:50But that can't just be a dream. We will have to make a choice. Can we include everybody? Can we build it? And are we going to be serious about it?
14:00Killing of Alex Preddy. After the shooting, Javier said agents then came after him.
14:06They're like, get the f*** over here. Get the f*** over here. And I was like, get the f*** off me. I'm not even doing anything. You know, there's not even no crime. You know, I'm a bystander.
14:16Another major flashpoint came with the killing of Alex Preddy, a 37-year-old ICU nurse in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026.
14:25Federal authorities said he posed a threat during a confrontation connected to the surge.
14:30Witnesses and widely circulated video footage have cast serious doubt on that account.
14:35They slammed the sickening lie told about their son by the administration, saying he was attacked by Trump's murdering and cowardly ice thugs.
14:45That he was trying to protect a woman and asked, please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.
14:52The contradiction between official statements and what many viewers believe the footage depicts has become one of the most powerful drivers of public outrage.
15:00Preddy's death reinforced fears that the surge isn't merely aggressive, but dangerously so.
15:05For many Minnesotans, it confirmed the belief that federal tactics carry an unacceptable risk of deadly outcomes.
15:11How do you find a personal sense of security?
15:17By not being scared of them, bro. I'm not going to be intimidated by them. I'm not.
15:23My father always told me, never be scared of a person that bleeds as much as you do.
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15:45Kristi Noem's role.
15:46But before I take any questions and give more details on the storm and its impact,
15:51I do want to address the tragic situation that we saw in Minneapolis today that unfolded on the streets.
15:56It occurred with DHS law enforcement as they carried out their lawful duties to keep Americans safe in the threat of criminal, illegal aliens in this country.
16:06At the center of the federal response is Homeland Security Secretary and former South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
16:13As DHS secretary, she's been the public face defending Operation Metro Surge and promoting its results.
16:19DHS messaging has consistently built the operation up as necessary, lawful, and effective.
16:25To supporters, Noem represents firm leadership and a willingness to enforce federal law without hesitation.
16:31To critics, she's become a clear avatar for escalation and federal overreach.
16:35An individual approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.
16:41The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently.
16:48Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots.
16:54Either way, her influence is undeniable.
16:56For many Minnesotans, the conflict is no longer about immigration policy.
17:00It's about how federal power is being exercised, and whether it's being done with restraint, accountability, and respect for local authority.
17:07This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.
17:15What do you think of the events unfolding in Minnesota?
17:18Is there anything we missed?
17:19Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
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