ICE: 400+ Undocumented Immigrants Arrested Since Metro Surge Began

(MINNESOTA) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it has arrested more than 400 undocumented immigrants in Minnesota since the start of the month under an operation it calls Operation Metro Surge, a crackdown the Department of Homeland Security has cast as focused on people living in the United States 🇺🇸 without legal status who also have prior criminal convictions.

The arrests, announced in a Department of Homeland Security press release reported by KSTP-TV, immediately spilled into the state’s political debate after DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin directly blamed Tim Walz and Jacob Frey for what she described as failures to protect residents.

“ICE law enforcement officers have arrested more than 400 illegal aliens including pedophiles, rapists, and violent thugs since Operation Metro Surge began,” McLaughlin said, using the term “illegal aliens” to describe those arrested.

McLaughlin went further, naming Walz and Frey and arguing that local leadership had allowed dangerous people to remain in communities.

“Tim Walz and Jacob Frey failed to protect the people of Minnesota. They let these monsters and child predators roam free. Thanks to our brave law enforcement, Minnesota is safer with these thugs off their streets. Instead of thanking our law enforcement for removing criminals from their communities, Tim Walz and Jacob Frey continue to demonize our brave law enforcement,” she said.

ICE and DHS framed Operation Metro Surge as targeting undocumented immigrants with prior criminal convictions in the United States, according to the DHS material cited by KSTP. The agencies’ announcement did not describe all of the arrests, but it did spotlight what DHS called the “worst of the worst” cases in Minnesota, offering names, countries of origin, and the convictions that officials said were on their records.

In one of the cases highlighted by DHS, Ban Du La Sein, from Burma, was convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct using force or coercion in Nobles County, Minnesota, according to the press materials. DHS also pointed to arrests of people it said had been convicted in other states before being taken into custody in Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge, including Vannaleut Keomany, from Laos, convicted of two counts of rape in Columbus, Ohio, and Liban Ali Osman, from Somalia, convicted of robbery in Columbus, Ohio.

Several of the cases DHS singled out involved sexual offense convictions in Minnesota counties, including Sing Radsmikham, from Laos, convicted of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct using force or coercion in Roseau County, Minnesota, and Tou Vang, also from Laos, convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a child under 13, according to DHS.

Another of the “worst of the worst” arrests listed by DHS was Somvang Phrachansiry, from Laos, convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. DHS also highlighted Javier Bulmaro Turrubiartes, from Mexico, who it said was convicted of soliciting children through electronic communication to engage in sexual conduct and hiring or agreeing to hire a child under 16 for prostitution.

DHS’s list included people it said had a mix of convictions across different jurisdictions. Angel Edwin Quiquintuna Capuz, from Ecuador, was convicted in Columbus, Ohio of robbery, and in Minnesota of driving while intoxicated, assaulting a police officer, obstructing the legal process, and disarming a peace officer, DHS said. Joel Cuautle-Ocelotl, from Mexico, was convicted in New York of third-degree assault with intent to cause physical injury, and in Minnesota of driving while impaired, according to the DHS materials.

The press release also highlighted Por Moua, from Laos, who DHS said was convicted in California of first-degree great bodily harm, third-degree sexual conduct, sexual intercourse with a child, and false imprisonment. Taken together, the “worst of the worst” list was presented by DHS as evidence that Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota was not centered on low-level immigration violations but on people the agency says had already been convicted of serious crimes in U.S. courts.

Still, by pairing its announcement with a direct attack on Walz and Frey, DHS turned what might otherwise have been a straightforward enforcement update into a pointed political message, suggesting a clash over local and federal roles in immigration enforcement. McLaughlin’s statement did not simply announce arrests; it accused Minnesota’s top Democratic governor and Minneapolis’s mayor of allowing “monsters and child predators” to move freely, while praising federal agents as “brave law enforcement” making streets safer.

Operation Metro Surge, as described in the DHS material cited by KSTP, is unfolding in Minnesota during a month when ICE says it has already made more than 400 arrests of undocumented immigrants. DHS did not, in the information reported by KSTP, provide a full accounting of where across Minnesota the arrests occurred or how many involved the kinds of convictions highlighted in the “worst of the worst” list. Instead, the agency used the list to underline the point made in McLaughlin’s quote: that those arrested included people DHS labeled “pedophiles, rapists, and violent thugs.”

By naming specific individuals—Ban Du La Sein, Vannaleut Keomany, Sing Radsmikham, Liban Ali Osman, Tou Vang, Por Moua, Javier Bulmaro Turrubiartes, Somvang Phrachansiry, Angel Edwin Quiquintuna Capuz, and Joel Cuautle-Ocelotl—DHS also made clear that Operation Metro Surge is not only a broad enforcement push but one the agency is publicizing with case examples tied to specific convictions and counties or states.

The Minnesota locations mentioned in DHS’s list included Nobles County and Roseau County, while other convictions were cited in Columbus, Ohio, New York, and California, suggesting that at least some of those arrested during Operation Metro Surge had criminal cases spread across state lines before their arrests in Minnesota. DHS did not, in the material reported by KSTP, specify how long each individual had been living in Minnesota or when the underlying convictions occurred.

ICE’s announcement lands in a state where immigration enforcement has long been politically charged, but the DHS language marked an unusually blunt public rebuke of state and city leaders. In her statement, McLaughlin framed the arrests not just as routine enforcement but as a corrective to what she called a failure by Walz and Frey, saying:

“They let these monsters and child predators roam free.”

She argued the result of the operation was improved safety, adding:

“Thanks to our brave law enforcement, Minnesota is safer with these thugs off their streets.”

The sharp rhetoric, especially the repeated use of “illegal aliens” in the DHS statement, is also likely to intensify scrutiny of how the federal government is choosing to describe immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota. DHS’s press materials, as reported by KSTP, place emphasis on the criminal convictions of those it highlighted, while also making the political case that state and local leaders are not supportive of federal law enforcement efforts.

“Instead of thanking our law enforcement for removing criminals from their communities, Tim Walz and Jacob Frey continue to demonize our brave law enforcement,” McLaughlin said.

ICE and DHS did not, in the details provided in the cited report, describe what comes next for the people arrested under Operation Metro Surge, including whether they will face immigration court proceedings, detention, or removal. The announcement nonetheless signals that federal immigration enforcement has intensified in Minnesota since the start of the month, with ICE now publicly tying its operations to a named initiative and a specific arrest count.

ICE publicizes press releases and operational updates through its official site, including immigration enforcement announcements: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement news releases.