Trump’s ICE ‘operation metro surge’ cost Minneapolis $203 million: Official

Minneapolis officials said on Friday that Operation Metro Surge, a federal immigration enforcement deployment by the Trump administration, cost the city at least $203 million.

The statement came on Friday as the White House began winding down the operation across Minnesota following months of occupation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.


Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, and emergency management officials detailed losses to wages, restaurants and small businesses, housing stability, food security, and mental health services as agents surged personnel into the metro beginning in December 2025.

The assessment also came as calls for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to resign continued, following the operation that resulted in the deaths of US citizens Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

The Trump administration insisted that it pursued only illegal immigrants with criminal records in its operation.

City leaders said the scale of the reported impacts threatened core municipal services and amplified needs among vulnerable residents as the operation disrupted daily life and commerce across Minneapolis.

The assessment pointed to up to 3,000 federal agents operating in neighbourhoods and estimated that about 76,000 people faced food insecurity tied to the surge. Officials also warned the city’s budget absorbed more than $6 million in police overtime, staff payroll, and operational costs in January, compounding a pre-existing fiscal challenge, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

Minneapolis released a “Preliminary Impact Assessment & Relief Needs Overview” that tallied at least $203.1 million in January impacts, including an estimated $47 million in lost wages among residents who stayed home from work out of fear, and about $81 million in restaurant and small-business revenue losses.

The assessment cited an additional $15.7 million in rent assistance needs and a weekly $2.4 million cost to meet food needs for approximately 76,200 people.

Officials emphasised the totals likely understated the full impact, noting the business-loss figures drew from a voluntary survey with responses from 82 of nearly 1,300 restaurants.

The Minneapolis Police Department was also forced to extend shifts and cancel days off, driving overtime that, over 5 days in January, exceeded the department’s full-year overtime budget, according to city officials.