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Despite widespread protests and intense pressure from local and state politicians to cease operations, the Department of Homeland Security said that its agents are continuing to remove the “scourge” of sexual predators, violent assailants, domestic abusers and drug traffickers from Minneapolis streets.
Immigration enforcement agents in the city have faced intense opposition from anti-ICE agitators, especially since the fatal shooting of activist Renee Nicole Good. Despite this, DHS said its efforts in Minneapolis, dubbed “Operation Metro Surge,” have continued to nab illegal immigrants with serious criminal records.
Among those arrested by DHS agents this week is Teng Houa Vang, an illegal alien from Thailand, who, according to the agency, has been convicted of domestic assault and pled guilty to terroristic threats and violation of a protection order. He has also been charged with arson, peeping tom, obstructing police, trespassing, assault, drug possession, and property damage.
Another, Michael Opeoluwa Egbele, from Nigeria, was arrested by immigration officials on Tuesday and has been convicted of fraud and impersonation.
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Left to right from the top: Teng Houa Vang, Francisco Salazar-Solorzano, Victor Javier Bahena-Sandoval, Lorenzo Armillas Llaurado, Santiago Antunes Mendiola and Michael Opeoluwa Egbele. (Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images; DHS)
A third, Francisco Salazar-Solorzano, from El Salvador, was also arrested on Tuesday and has been charged with assault, domestic violence, and driving under the influence of liquor.
Mexican illegal immigrant Victor Javier Bahena-Sandoval was also arrested in Minneapolis and has a criminal history that includes an arrest for domestic violence and convictions for four counts of disorderly conduct and illegal re-entry. Another Mexican national, Santiago Antunes Mendiola, was arrested the same day and has been charged with battery.
Spanish national Lorenzo Armillas Llaurado was nabbed as well and has been convicted of felony distribution of a controlled substance.
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers question a man about his status on Lake Street near Karmel Mall in Minnesota on Dec. 10, 2025. (Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images)
In a Wednesday statement, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin reiterated, “We are in Minnesota to arrest the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.”
McLaughlin said that Democratic Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey “refuse to let us into their jails and instead chose to release criminal illegal aliens back into Minnesota neighborhoods to victimize more Americans.”
“Despite violence against them and a lack of cooperation from sanctuary politicians, our law enforcement will not stop their efforts to get criminals out of our country,” McLaughlin went on. “Another day, another scourge of sexual predators, violent assailants, domestic abusers, and drug traffickers arrested from the streets of Minnesota by our law enforcement.”
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Federal agents deploy tear gas as anti-ICE agitators move through a smoke-filled street during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Jan. 13, 2026. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Walz and Frey but did not immediately receive a response.
