In 2026, Minnesota became the epicenter of a massive federal immigration enforcement crackdown, as the Department of Homeland Security launched "Operation Metro Surge" in early January, deploying 2,000 agents to the Twin Cities. This operation led to multiple fatal shootings of civilians by federal agents, including American citizen Alex Pretti (Jan 24) and Renée Good (Jan 7), as well as the warrantless detention of a 5-year-old boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, and a naturalized citizen, ChongLy Thao. In response, Governor Tim Walz dropped his reelection bid (Jan 5), mobilized the Minnesota National Guard (Jan 17), and the state and cities sued the DHS (Jan 12), while protests led to arrests of activists like Nekima Levy Armstrong and journalist Don Lemon. The operation was abruptly ended on February 12 when Border Czar Tom Homan announced its conclusion, withdrawing about 700 officers. Separately, the year saw the HHS halt $10 billion in social services to the state, and gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson suspended his campaign after his daughter's murder in February.