City of St. Paul sues
federal government over ICE activity

City of St. Paul sues federal government over ICE activity
By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | February 2026

Federal officers with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency have been present in St. Paul and other metro area communities in recent months, fully equipped with armor, weaponry and riot control devices such as pepper spray. They are raiding residences and businesses suspected of having illegal immigration activity and are also appearing at random locations asking people for proof of citizenship. Overall, their presence has been met by mass fear and unrest, as is evident by protests in the streets, student walkouts and residents voicing concerns at city council meetings that ICE agents are targeting people of specific ethnicities without reasonable cause of them being illegal immigrants. The City of St. Paul has said that ICE officers in the Twin Cities have pointed weaponry at and used force against people engaging in constitutionally free speech demonstrations.

Conversely, there have been reports of protestors acting aggressively against ICE officers. In a Jan. 19 statement, the Department of Homeland Security said that in the past six weeks ICE has arrested 3,000 criminals who are illegal aliens. The statement included names and photos of people convicted of offenses ranging from driving under the influence and assault, to rape and homicide.

Some states and cities – including St. Paul and Minneapolis – have filed lawsuits against the federal government for ICE actions believed to be unlawful. The City of St. Paul issued a statement regarding its lawsuit in January, including this excerpt:

“In December 2025, the federal government initiated ‘Operation Metro Surge,’ during which thousands of armed and masked DHS (Department of Homeland Security) agents – including from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – have stormed the Twin Cities to conduct militarized raids and carry out dangerous, illegal, and unconstitutional stops and arrests, all under the guise of lawful immigration enforcement…. The State and the cities allege the surge amounts to a violation of the First and Tenth Amendments of the Constitution, as well as the Constitution’s guarantee of equal sovereignty between state and federal governments. They also allege the surge violates the Administrative Procedure Act. The State and the cities seek an end to Operation Metro Surge and the deployments of thousands of DHS agents to Minnesota, as well as an end to the unlawful behaviors of DHS agents within the state, including but not limited to:

• Arresting, threatening, and using force against innocent bystanders;
• Using force against individuals peacefully engaging in constitutionally protected speech;
• Pointing firearms at individuals who pose no threat to DHS agents; and
• Carrying out enforcement actions at sensitive locations like schools, churches, hospitals.”

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her said in the statement, “Federal law enforcement’s occupation of our city is putting us all at risk. They’ve come into St. Paul and needlessly invaded our neighborhoods and homes; they’re targeting us based on what we look and sound like. Our residents are scared, and as local officials, we have a responsibility to act. Today we’re standing side by side with Minneapolis and the Attorney General to fight back.”

It should be noted that immigration enforcement falls outside of local law enforcement jurisdiction.

Local crime

While this federal crackdown is dominating daily headlines, recent interviews with local police chiefs provided insight on how criminal activity on the local front has changed over the past year.

St. Paul
The St. Paul police department’s Central District, encompasses downtown, the West Side, West Seventh and the area north of downtown to Rice Street, from Dale to I-35E. Notable statistics in 2025 compared to 2024 include:

• Aggravated assault decreased 20% (assault decreased 18%)
• Burglary dropped 13%, and robbery 30%
• Motor vehicle theft was down 26%
• Reckless discharge of a firearm decreased 36%

Stats specific to downtown:

• Assault decreased 22%
• Motor vehicle theft decreased 50%
• Reckless discharge of a firearm decreased 53%
• Burglary increased 14%. However, the increase is attributed to a new state statute which issues burglary charges against people who already have a shoplifting charge.
• Two central district officers continue to join members from the Homeless Action Response Team on weekly visits to homeless encampments. As of last fall, there were just three encampments being tracked by the city, with a total of 114 people living at them (76 men and 38 women) – although 5-10 temporary sites pop up weekly.
• Spears said the police department has been avidly working with other agencies in the downtown area such as Metro Transit to target suppliers of the illegal opioid fentanyl, which has been a leading cause for overdose deaths and has been known to be sold under the guise of other drugs or added to other drugs like cocaine to make them cheaper to manufacture.

Most notably, instances of homicide dropped to 15, following six years of having 30 or more – there were 33 in 2024. Additionally, cases of non-fatal shootings have been significantly reduced over the past three years. There were 192 in 2022, 122 in 2023, 110 in 2024 and only 73 in 2025.

“We look at these numbers, and I know it sounds good that they’re down and that things are trending down but we understand that every single one of those incidents is super impactful for people,” said Central District Chief Nicole Spears. “Even one burglary offense is going to be very impactful, but we at least use it [statistics] as a gauge to show us that our efforts are going in the right direction to try to bring some of the trends down.”

Spears attributed the decrease in gun violence to the city’s non-fatal shooting unit that was established in 2024, as well as city partnerships for programs that proactively engage at-risk youth. The Unit assigns investigators to cases involving a non-fatal shooting immediately after it occurs rather than a few days later – as the department would a homicide – thus making it more likely to catch offenders. Spears said the number of non-fatal shooting cases they’ve solved has jumped from a low of 28% in 2022 to 61% in 2025.

Twenty-eight new recruits will get their boots on the ground this summer, including nine in the Central District. The department is authorized for 616 officers and currently has about 550. Spears said recruitment was low in the COVID years of 2020 and 2021 but the department has seen a surge in applications since the State of Minnesota established the ICPOET program in 2024. It’s a 12-month program that allows people with a college degree to get full time pay while training to become a police officer.

“We’re getting great candidates from it,” said Spears. “It’s another great way to get people into the training and to work as a St. Paul police officer…. There’s definitely still a need [to recruit more officers]. I think that’s being felt across the country, and we’re no different.”

West St. Paul

• Cases of assault have been trending down in recent years but rose from 182 to 217. There have been no homicides since 2021.
• Burglary cases dropped from 155 to 112, and shoplifting cases from 405 to 315. The dip for the former is even more notable considering a new state statute now issues burglary charges against people who already have a shoplifting charge. Big box stores along Robert Street such as Walmart, Target and Menards are known to be significant victims of theft, with more than 500 reported cases of shoplifting just five years ago. West St. Paul Police Chief Brian Sturgeon said the police department has worked with the store managers to recommend ways to proactively prevent crime.
• Robberies are up from 8 to 10, and theft from motor vehicles are up 33%, from 96 to 128.
• Overdose related emergencies dropped from 207 in 2024 to 193 in 2025, both down from a high of 247 in 2021. Sturgeon said the illegal opioid fentanyl is still a top concern. Overdose numbers are combined for West St. Paul and South St. Paul as they share medical services through South Metro Fire.
• Mental health crisis calls remain around 500 for the sixth consecutive year. The City’s mental health officer, Greg Altman, works alongside embedded Dakota County social workers Stephanie Robinson and Albert Vargas to respond to calls involving mental health crises and connect individuals with resources for long-term care.

The department remains fully staffed with 40 officers. It also has several Community Service Officers, a position often held by college students pursuing a criminal justice degree, as well as a Student Resource Officer who works across schools in Independent School District 197. K9 patrol dogs Cecil and Bear continue serving along police officers. Therapy K9 Rocky, a former stray found in the city, joined the department last fall following a formal assessment by Soldier 6, which trains K9s.

Notably, Artificial Intelligence hasn’t been implemented much in the police department, but other new technology has. In the past four months, six cameras capable of reading license plates and identifying vehicles associated with crime have been installed around the city. West St. Paul Police squad cars have used technology like this since 2012, but the stationary network has already proven to be more successful.

“We’ve found everything from felony assault suspects, to stolen vehicles, and vehicles that are wanted in crimes throughout the metro area,” said Sturgeon. “It’s helped us in dozens of tough cases where we got a description of the vehicle or a partial license plate and we’ve been able to track those vehicles down and the suspects driving those vehicles at the time.”

Four more of the special cameras will be installed this spring. They’re funded by a three-year Minnesota Department of Public Safety grant received in partnership with the City of South St. Paul. It should be noted that they are positioned at specific angles to prevent scanners from seeing drivers’ faces.

The City of West St. Paul issued this statement in December regarding ICE activity:

“The City of West St. Paul is proud to be a safe and welcoming place for all. We are aware that many community members have heard reports of immigration officials conducting operations in the metro area. We want to reassure you that the City and our Police Department do not and cannot enforce civil immigration laws. These activities are conducted by federal agencies, not by local law enforcement. We understand that these reports cause fear and uncertainty. West St. Paul is home to a diverse population that has shaped our city over more than a century and is a large part of why we’re so welcoming, vibrant, and dedicated to the success of our community. Our highest priority is the safety and well‑being of everyone that is a part of West St. Paul.”

South St. Paul
This statement was recently posted on the City of South St. Paul’s website:

“The City of South St. Paul is aware of federal immigration enforcement activity taking place throughout the region. We understand that this activity has created fear, uncertainty, and confusion within our community. It is important that community members understand that South St. Paul has no direct, indirect, or ancillary role in civil immigration enforcement. South St. Paul does not receive or engage in communication or information sharing with the federal government related to civil immigration enforcement. No City department, official, employee, or agency provides assistance or support for civil immigration enforcement, as such assistance or support would be outside the scope of our authority under law. Our primary focus has been, and will continue to be, to serve every member of this community equally and to do everything within our legal authority, control, and power to foster the safety and wellbeing of our community and community members.”

The most recent statistics available as of press time were October 2024-2025. In 2025, as is typical, the most common calls to the police department were for nuisance crimes like noise complaints and neighborhood disputes; there were two homicide cases.

• Driving While Influenced cases were down from 371 in 2024 to 254 in 2025, but South St. Paul Police Chief Brian Wicke said they had less officers on patrol so it’s not necessarily indicative of a trend.
• Aggravated assault decreased 38.5%, from 83 to 51. However, cases of intimidation rose from 53 to 114.
• Burglaries decreased from 27 to 22, and theft from motor vehicles stayed flat at 48. Shoplifting was up, from 7 to 10.
• Vandalism was down 22%, from 100 to 78.
• Wicke said top concerns for the department continue to be domestic violence, and overdoses attributed to the illegal opioid fentanyl. Overdose cases are down from a high of 247 in 2023 to 193 in 2025. Overall drug violations rose from 87 in 2024 to 102 in 2025.

The department currently has 33 officers and expects to get back to full capacity of 37 by summertime. This February, three new officers are getting their boots on the ground following graduation from the state’s newly established ICPOET program, a 12-month program that trains people with a college degree to become a police officer. The three South St. Paul “police cadets” – one has a background in psychology, one in property management, and one in criminal justice – have been compensated as full-time police officers during training.

“As people’s lives change and evolve, it’s pretty simple to leave one department and go to another,” said Wicke, noting Minnesota police can transfer departments without losing their pension. “We’ve been on the receiving end of that, and we’ve been on the giving end of that as well. Unfortunately, we’ve lost a number of officers to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, to the FBI, and I believe a number of years back we lost one to the U.S. Marshals as well. The reality is our staff gets a fair amount of experience working complex investigations and that experience is highly sought after by some of our state and federal partners who do that work full time.”

The department is also authorized for up to six part-time Community Service Officers, who are often students pursuing a criminal justice degree. It also has two Student Resource Officers working within South St. Paul schools, and an embedded Dakota County social worker and Dakota County crisis worker who respond with officers to calls involving a mental health crisis. K9 patrol dog Doug and therapy K9 Riley continue serving the community and police officers.

While Artificial Intelligence hasn’t been implemented much in the police department, other new technology has. In the past three months, nine special cameras capable of reading license plates and identifying vehicles associated with crime have been installed around the city. South St. Paul Police squad cars have used technology like this since 2012, but the stationary network has already proven to be more successful.

“We had a young lady that was dragged by a motor vehicle right around Thanksgiving,” said Wicke. “She wasn’t able to talk to us, and we had no firsthand witnesses. Quite frankly, that’s a crime that probably would have went unsolved if not for these cameras…. Within a matter of minutes, we were able to get a license plate. Within an hour or two, we had officers who had located that vehicle up in the city of St. Paul.”

The new cameras were funded by a three-year Minnesota Department of Public Safety grant received in partnership with the city of West St. Paul. It should be noted that the cameras are positioned at specific angles to prevent scanners from seeing drivers’ faces.

In closing, Wicke stressed that the department is continually adapting to serve the community as best as possible, and asked residents to have patience.

“We have a very emotionally charged population right now,” said Wicke. “If people were to take a deep breath and objectively take a look at what your local police departments are doing, I think they would come to the agreement that they are in furtherance of what is best for our community…. We are working with our community. We’re not trying to dominate or occupy our community. We are working with them and what is best…. We are here to work for all of the members in our community, whether they’re here just temporarily or permanently.”