DOJ Subpoenas Minnesota Leaders in Immigration Probe

LEAD: The Justice Department served six grand jury subpoenas on Jan. 20, 2026, to the offices of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty seeking records for a grand jury investigation into whether state and local officials impeded federal immigration enforcement, a person familiar with the matter said.

CONTEXT: The subpoenas follow the Jan. 7, 2026, killing of 37-year-old Renee Macklin Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer and a Jan. 12, 2026, lawsuit filed by Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul asking U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez to halt or limit Operation Metro Surge, court records and news reports show.

RESPONSE: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called the subpoenas 'highly irregular' and vowed not to be intimidated while Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the federal government is 'weaponizing its power' and noted his subpoena requires him to appear in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on Feb. 3, 2026, both officials said in statements.

SCALE: Department of Homeland Security records and federal filings show Operation Metro Surge has deployed roughly 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents in the Twin Cities and produced about 3,000 arrests over the past six weeks, a force federal filings say is nearly five times the approximately 600-officer Minneapolis Police Department.

FORWARD: Federal prosecutors have convened a grand jury and are pursuing an investigation that cites a rarely used conspiracy statute, court records show, while U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez has not set a date to rule on the Jan. 12 lawsuit and at least one subpoenaed official is scheduled to appear on Feb. 3, 2026.