Minnesota Somali Community Faces Scrutiny Amid ICE Crackdown

Local reporters say national coverage misses the full scope of the state's migrant communities

Published on Feb. 22, 2026

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Minnesota has been the target of the largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in the U.S., called Operation Metro Surge, since early December 2025. Thousands of people have been arrested and hundreds detained, and two observers have been shot and killed by ICE agents in the Powderhorn community of south Minneapolis. Local reporters say recent New York Times reporting on a fraud scandal involving Minnesota's Somali community may have played a role in shaping perceptions and contributing to the ICE crackdown, though they argue the national coverage has missed the full scope of the state's diverse migrant communities.

Why it matters

The ICE operation and national media coverage have drawn unwelcome attention to Minnesota's Somali community, the largest in the country at about 80,000 people. Local journalists argue the national reporting has failed to capture the full landscape of the state's migrant communities and the nuances of how they are being impacted.

The details

Since early December 2025, more than 3,000 ICE agents have been deployed to Minnesota, leading to thousands of arrests and hundreds of detentions. Two observers, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, have been shot and killed by ICE agents in the Powderhorn community of south Minneapolis. A November 2025 New York Times article on a fraud scandal involving Minnesota's Somali community may have played a role in shaping perceptions and contributing to the ICE crackdown, though local reporters argue the national coverage has missed the full scope of the state's diverse migrant communities.

  • In early December 2025, Operation Metro Surge, the largest ICE operation in the U.S., was launched in Minnesota.
  • On December 2, 2025, former President Donald Trump said Somali Americans should 'go back to where they came from' and called them 'garbage'.
  • On December 26, 2025, conservative content creator Nick Shirley published a video alleging fraud at Somali-led childcare centers in Minnesota, which garnered millions of views.
  • On January 7, 2026, an ICE agent shot and killed Renée Good in south Minneapolis.
  • Less than three weeks after Good's killing, on January 26, 2026, a different ICE agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, also in south Minneapolis.

The players

Tim Walz

The governor of Minnesota who announced he would not be running for a third term after the ICE crackdown and killings.

Lisa Demuth

A Republican governor-hopeful in Minnesota who criticized Governor Walz for allegedly allowing the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal to fester.

Ernesto Londoño

The Midwest correspondent for The New York Times who authored the article on the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal.

Melody Hoffmann

The founding editor of Southwest Voices, a local newspaper serving the southwest corner of Minneapolis.

Vanan Murugesan

The editor-in-chief of the Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom reporting for Minnesota's immigrants and communities of color.

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What they’re saying

“It kind of was perplexing and confusing why this was coming up because Feeding Our Future has been in the [Minnesota] news for a really long time. There's no timely hook to the story.”

— Melody Hoffmann, Founding Editor, Southwest Voices (sierranevadaally.org)

“The first [event] was a report by Chris Rufo, the conservative activist, which created the inference that some of the money that had been stolen in these schemes in Minnesota had wound up in the hands of terrorists in Africa. At the same time … people in the nation's capital were reeling from that horrific shooting of two members of the National Guard.”

— Ernesto Londoño, Midwest Correspondent, The New York Times (The Daily)

“One of the things that immigrant communities and communities of color commonly face is that when there's a crisis or tragedy that's impacting them, the first few days or weeks, there's a lot of attention paid to it by either local or national outlets, and then they are gone. It feels a bit like you're being used and then you're no longer part of the news cycle.”

— Vanan Murugesan, Editor-in-Chief, Sahan Journal (Columbia Journalism Review)

What’s next

The judge in the case involving the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow the agents out on bail.

The takeaway

This case highlights the concerns of Minnesota's diverse migrant communities about the national media's portrayal of their experiences and the disproportionate impact of ICE crackdowns on their communities. It underscores the importance of local journalists who can provide nuanced, community-centered coverage to counter the national narratives.