Minnesota highest in anti-ICE violence despite having fewer deportations than Texas, California, Florida, New York

While Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has sharply increased arrests across the United States, Minneapolis has emerged as a focal point for protests and unrest despite seeing fewer deportations than many other states.

Federal data show that ICE enforcement is far more extensive elsewhere. According to tracking compiled from ICE and independent immigration data projects, Texas accounts for roughly 22–23 percent of all ICE arrests nationwide, followed by Florida at about 11 percent and California at roughly 7 percent. Other states with higher arrest totals than Minnesota include Georgia, Arizona, New York, and Virginia.

Minnesota, by comparison, falls outside the top tier of ICE arrest activity, ranking around the middle of US states despite recent enforcement surges.

Nationwide, ICE has significantly expanded operations since President Donald Trump returned to office. By mid-2025, ICE had carried out more than 100,000 administrative arrests, with detention levels climbing to over 65,000 individuals in custody, a modern record. Deportations and removals have reached hundreds of thousands, according to federal reporting and independent analyses.

Yet the scale of enforcement in Minnesota remains smaller than in many states that have not seen comparable public unrest.

ICE activity in Minnesota increased sharply in late 2025 following the launch of a regional enforcement initiative focused on the Twin Cities metro area. Federal officials have said the operation targets individuals with outstanding removal orders and criminal histories. Public reporting indicates several hundred arrests occurred during the early phase of the operation, with many detainees transferred to facilities outside the state due to limited detention capacity in Minnesota.

Despite these numbers, Minnesota’s arrest totals remain far below those recorded in border states and large population centers.

Analysts note that enforcement patterns vary significantly by jurisdiction. In states that cooperate closely with federal immigration authorities, arrests are more likely to occur through jail transfers and coordinated operations, reducing public visibility. In jurisdictions where local governments decline to assist ICE, agents rely more heavily on at-large arrests, which are conducted in public settings and tend to draw greater attention.

Minneapolis officials have repeatedly stated that city police will not assist federal immigration enforcement, a policy that has drawn praise from activists and criticism from law enforcement advocates. The result has been more visible ICE activity concentrated in a single metro area, rather than spread across multiple jurisdictions.