While Border Czar Tom Homan said that most of the 3,000 federal agents involved in Operation Metro Surge will be leaving Minnesota, some officers will remain amid the lingering anti-ICE unrest — including those investigating fraud and the storming of a St. Paul church by anti-ICE agitators.
Alpha News has been the only Minnesota media organization granted a behind-the-scenes look at the work ICE officers do in the state.
Alpha News senior reporter Liz Collin first rode along with officers in September 2025. This week, Collin and her crew were back at the Whipple Federal Building to see how things have changed.
WATCH:
This time, they were asked to wear bulletproof vests and face coverings. And it’s easy to understand why, least of all since there are now barricades outside spray-painted with “F–k ICE” — along with anti-ICE agitators shouting obscenities at just about anyone going in or out of the federal building.
About 150 officers are stationed at the St. Paul field office. The office covers Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska.
🚨VIDEO: “Little baby b*tches”
“Go f*** yourself”
“C*nt”
15 seconds outside the Whipple Federal Building as @AlphaNews returned to cover the end of Operation Metro Surge.
The scene has played out for months for those who work in the building as they come and go.
Profanity… pic.twitter.com/55oKSjAhWx
— Liz Collin (@lizcollin) February 18, 2026
Despite the chaos in the streets, Sam Olson, who serves as the field office director, told Collin that the surge has helped improve public safety in Minnesota.
“Just from the arrests that we made — and I see some of the reports — the arrests that had criminal histories were very significant. There’s people that have been convicted for sex crimes, significant assaults, manslaughter, all of these things and that we were able to take into our custody and some we’re going to be able to remove from the U.S.,” Olson explained.
This follows the evidence that Homan detailed, including how in just 10 weeks, more than 4,000 illegal aliens were arrested, and more than 3,300 missing, unaccompanied children were located in Minnesota.
Back in September, Olson told Collin that the lack of cooperation from some county jails makes everyone less safe. But now, unhinged public interference has made the already dangerous situation even worse.
“I remember when I first started, I would just every morning go to Hennepin County and then Ramsey County and interview aliens right at the jail … Now, we don’t have any space at the jail. There’s really no communication. If somebody is booked in that’s here illegally, they don’t contact us,” Olson said in September. “We’re out here on the street sitting and waiting with seven or eight officers just for one person. We could flip that around, we could have seven or eight people at Hennepin County jail that we’re assuming custody of with two of our officers.”
Now, however, things have changed.
“I think the biggest thing has changed is that those lines of communication are open. We’re having conversations with a lot of the sheriffs, a lot of the police departments. And I think that’s the biggest thing that we’ve asked for,” Olson said.
Olson also pointed out that cooperation with local law enforcement outside of jails has been another game changer.
“When there’s a call for help when there’s people … violating a state or local ordinance and that has helped. When Hennepin County was here and they helped with putting up some of the fencing out there, keeping some of the the agitators out of the street, that was a big help and when people did violate the local laws, they took an action and that was very helpful. After the lines of communication got opened up and we talk almost daily with a lot of the area law enforcement, I think that has been very helpful,” Olson explained.
What has not been helpful, Olson said, has been the sometimes shocking rhetoric that has gone on for months.
For example, Gov. Tim Walz previously referred to ICE agents as the “Gestapo” and made a reference about being at war with the federal government.
Walz also encouraged people to “witness” and record ICE officers so they could be prosecuted for “atrocities.”
Likewise, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan made public comments on social media telling protesters to put their bodies on the line in taking action against ICE.
In response, Olson said, “That is tough. I try to remain apolitical in this. I try to remain like we have a job to do. These laws were passed by Congress. We have to do them.”
“It is tough when you have some people that do have a platform to say stuff that make it more difficult to do the job. Again, our officers don’t create these laws. Our officers are just here to enforce the laws that were created by the legislative branch. And so when we hear people making it that much harder, that is tough and it’s hard on the officers as well,” Olson added.
He also pointed out how such rhetoric has had an impact on ICE officers who live and work in Minnesota.
“While there was a big surge in resources here, we have an office of people that live here and work here and are constituents here, their families are here. I think like seeing that and when they hear some of their leaders say that … it’s difficult for them because they’re here saying, ‘Hey, I signed up for this job. I took an oath to defend the Constitution and enforce immigration law and this is what I’m doing and now somehow I’m getting vilified for doing that.’ I think that’s tough for some people to square,” Olson explained.
In pointing out the anti-ICE activity right outside the building, Olson said, “Today, already when I pulled in, I must have been told to kill myself three or four times. And then just like the other obscenities, you know what I mean? And it’s constant.”
“We’ve always had people videotaping us, so we’re used to that but we really didn’t experience people actually trying to stop us from doing the job by either standing in front of us, assaulting our officers, grabbing the people that we arrested and trying to pull them away. We’ve never seen that. Since I’ve been back here, like that’s what we’re seeing almost on nearly every arrest that we’re on we’re seeing people come and impede us,” he said.
“It’s just kind of sheer madness out there,” Olson said.
“There were times that the agitators got in pounding on vehicles, breaking off the mirrors, throwing stuff at the vehicles, getting vehicles spit on,” Olson added. “The threats have increased, I think the number’s like over 8,000%. Just something kind of wild. It’s hard to even fathom that percentage increase. But it’s happening and it’s happening daily,” Olson said.
Despite the politics and the protesters, Olson says there is no doubt that Minnesota is safer now and that nevertheless, ICE remains committed to its mission in Minnesota.
Liz Collin
Liz Collin is a multi-Emmy-Award-winning investigative reporter, news anchor, and producer who cares about Minnesota. She is the producer of The Fall of Minneapolis and Minnesota v We the People documentary films, and author of the Amazon best-selling book, They’re Lying: The Media, the Left, and The Death of George Floyd. Her work has prompted important state laws. Yet perhaps most of all, Liz has been giving a voice to the truth—and helping others tell their stories—for more than 20 years.
Dr. JC Chaix
Dr. JC Chaix is an editor, educator, and an expert in media studies. He wrote and directed the Alpha News documentary "The Fall of Minneapolis" and "Minnesota v We the People."
