Metro Surge: ICE Raids Documentation

Leadership Accountability: Mayor Anne Burt's Inaction

January 14-15, 2026 Council Meeting: Right after Metro Surge, nearly 25 residents packed City Hall demanding a formal resolution prohibiting ICE detention facilities. Woodbury Indivisible organized a press conference requesting binding policy action, not just statements. (Source: Woodbury News Net, January 15, 2026)

April 23, 2026 Council Meeting: Four months later, residents returned with a community-drafted resolution signed by 150+ residents. Susan Asplund presented the petition asking for formal policy. Mayor Burt refused to put it to a vote. The council "swiftly moved to the consent agenda" without voting. Instead, the city issued only a non-binding proclamation. (Source: Woodbury News Net, April 23, 2026)

Resident Susan Asplund's Direct Critique: "A proclamation is not policy. It creates no obligation, no sense of protection and no meaningful change."

The Pattern: When residents ask for binding policy, Mayor Burt's council refuses to vote. When community pressure mounts, she issues feel-good statements instead of real action. That's the difference between leadership and political theater.

Real leadership on ICE means: allowing residents to formally vote on a resolution restricting city property for federal immigration enforcement—not just issuing proclamations that create "no obligation, no sense of protection and no meaningful change."

✓ The Solution: John Sebastian for Mayor

John Sebastian authored the ICE detention moratorium resolution that Mayor Burt blocked from a vote. At the LWV forum, he directly challenged the sitting council for refusing to allow residents to vote on ICE-related resolutions, despite the city's public claims of opposition.

Sebastian's Position: Transparent governance. Formal votes. Letting residents decide. No more political theater—binding policy that protects immigrant communities.

← Back to campaign hub for John Sebastian's full platform

Campaign Overview

Goal: Document and raise awareness about ICE enforcement operations ("Metro Surge") that took place in January 2026, and their connection to surveillance infrastructure like ALPR cameras.

Key Issues: Immigration enforcement using surveillance technology (Flock ALPR cameras), community impact on immigrant families, deportation threats, cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agencies.

Status: Active documentation and community support for affected families and communities.

What is Metro Surge?

Operation Metro Surge was an ICE enforcement operation that targeted undocumented immigrants across the Minnesota metropolitan area in January 2026. The operation resulted in mass arrests and separated families from their homes and livelihoods.

Key Facts:

• Coordinated multi-day enforcement operation across metro Minneapolis area
• Used surveillance technology, including ALPR cameras (Flock Safety), to locate targets
• Connected to local law enforcement cooperation with federal ICE agents
• Resulted in dozens of arrests and deportations
• Impacted working families and community members with no criminal history

Connection to Surveillance

Metro Surge represents a concrete example of how ALPR surveillance technology (like Flock cameras) is used for immigration enforcement. The Deflock Woodbury campaign documents these same cameras in our community.

How it works:

• ALPR cameras read every license plate that passes
• ICE agents access this data to track and locate immigrants
• Local police partnership provides targeting information
• Surveillance data enables deportations and family separation

This is not hypothetical—Metro Surge shows this is happening RIGHT NOW in our region.

Community Impact

The human cost of Metro Surge and similar operations:

• Family Separation: Children separated from parents without warning
• Economic Devastation: Families lose primary wage earners overnight
• Fear in Communities: Immigrant families afraid to work, go to school, seek healthcare
• Trauma: Children witness parents arrested without due process
• Community Destabilization: Loss of essential workers, community members, neighbors