Chuck Grassley Confronts Kristi Noem Over Mistakes in Operation Metro Surge

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley pressed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday about “Operation Metro Surge,” a Trump administration interior enforcement crackdown that has drawn scrutiny after reported enforcement errors and growing public concern.

Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, framed the hearing as an oversight test of whether the administration can pursue immigration arrests while protecting civil liberties and public safety. Noem defended the department’s tactics and urged lawmakers to give DHS clearer authority for key enforcement tools.

“Mistakes were made. Let’s make it clear: One death is too many. But officers should never be threatened or harmed while enforcing our laws. From my perspective, I believe immigration enforcement and dignity aren’t mutually exclusive,” Grassley said.

Noem told senators that ICE personnel face rising threats, which she attributed to public portrayals of immigration enforcement. “ICE agents are facing a serious and escalating threat as a result of deliberate mischaracterizations of their heroic work. We have documented an 8,000% increase in death threats against ICE officers and their families,” she said.

Debate also sharpened over when federal agents may rely on administrative warrants rather than judicial warrants, a central issue in disputes over home entries and arrests. “An administrative warrant is utilized on a regular basis because it’s the process that Congress has given us. We will continue using this tool, as it’s important in the duties that the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for,” Noem said.

The hearing on March 3, 2026 comes as Senate Democrats withhold DHS funding during a partial shutdown, tying appropriations to demands that include body cameras, removing masks for agents, and requiring third-party warrants to enter homes. Operation Metro Surge has become a focal point in that fight, with lawmakers arguing over how far interior enforcement can go.

Grassley’s remarks about lethal errors referred to the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis during enforcement operations, as described at the hearing. Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot by an ICE agent on Jan 7, 2026.

Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse at the VA hospital, was shot by CBP officers on Jan 24, 2026 while filming law enforcement. The hearing record and exchanges did not resolve responsibility for the shootings, but senators treated them as a central measure of accountability.

The enforcement push examined on Tuesday spanned a period when ICE carried out nearly 379,000 arrests between January 2025 and January 2026. Lawmakers used that figure to argue over whether the pace of arrests has outstripped safeguards meant to prevent wrongful detentions and mistaken targeting.

Operation Metro Surge, described in the hearing as a large federal deployment, sent roughly 3,000 federal agents to the Twin Cities with an enforcement mission intended to “gain cooperation” from sanctuary cities. Local officials and court filings alleged the operation involved “excessive force, warrantless arrests, and racial profiling.”

Those allegations, raised as part of the oversight dispute, sit at the center of constitutional arguments about due process and search-and-seizure standards. Senators questioned how federal agents identify targets, what documentation they accept on the street, and what rules govern entry into homes.

Funding pressure has intensified those questions because DHS has operated in a partial shutdown for 18 days as of March 3, 2026, due to a budget impasse. The shutdown has fueled arguments over whether Congress should condition money on policy changes and oversight mechanisms.

The shutdown also has brought workforce strain across agencies tied to DHS, with Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Coast Guard employees working without pay. Senators warned that disruptions can ripple into immigration-facing functions even when operations continue.

Within DHS, Noem’s testimony placed special emphasis on officer safety and enforcement authority, while Democrats tied continued funding to limits on masking, new camera requirements, and tighter warrant standards. Grassley sought to keep the hearing focused on accountability after deaths and on basic conduct expectations during arrests.

Beyond policing standards, the hearing also highlighted administrative pressures across the immigration system. USCIS has diverted resources toward a “Homeland Defenders” program and a “denaturalization” initiative targeting 100–200 cases per month for FY 2026.

Senators also discussed fear in Minnesota communities since the Twin Cities operation began. Reports cited at the hearing said many immigrant families have “sheltered in place” for weeks as they tried to avoid encounters with federal agents.

Foreign-born U.S. citizens have reportedly started carrying passports at all times to reduce the risk of being wrongly detained. Lawmakers described the behavior as a sign that trust in basic identification checks has eroded during intensified interior operations.

The legal fallout has extended into federal courtrooms. Federal courts have ruled in over 4,400 cases that ICE detained individuals illegally during this period, a figure lawmakers cited while debating whether internal reviews and discipline can curb repeat errors.

Asylum processing also came under discussion because USCIS placed a “hold on all pending asylum applications” after a security incident in early 2025, leaving hundreds of thousands in legal limbo without work authorization. Senators argued over whether resource shifts and enforcement priorities have prolonged delays for people already inside the system.

Official verification of Tuesday’s exchanges and claims runs through the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing record, which includes the testimony and questioning that shaped the debate over Operation Metro Surge and DHS enforcement practices. The committee posted the record at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing page.

DHS also pointed to public statements attributed to Noem reflecting the department’s position, including material posted in the agency’s newsroom. DHS listed a page for the hearing at DHS Newsroom.

USCIS referenced an end-of-year enforcement review as part of its public materials on operational shifts and enforcement-related impacts. USCIS posted that review at USCIS End-of-Year Enforcement Review.

Grassley closed his central warning in a line that captured the hearing’s political divide, pressing accountability while defending the legitimacy of enforcing immigration law: “Mistakes were made. Let’s make it clear: One death is too many.”