mission in action: minnesota reformer highlights our habeas work

In the few months from December 2025 through February 2026, Minnesota saw more unlawful arrests and detention than any time in our history. They came as part of Operation Metro Surge, the federal occupation of the Twin Cities that took the lives of at least two Minnesotans and did untold harm to thousands of others.

But, in the words of one protest chant from Boston:

We’re not cold

We’re not afraid

Minnesota taught us to be brave.

That bravery came in every form we could imagine. Food drives for our neighbors unable to leave home safely. Neighborhood patrols. Constitutional observers. Rent drives.

For us, along with many other volunteer lawyers, that meant trying to free our neighbors from unlawful detention.

The process, called a writ of habeas corpus, meant suing the government to challenge the legal reasons being given for arrests. The crux of the issue might seem pretty boring. Legally, the question comes down to this: is a non-citizen “seeking admission” into the United States when they’ve already been here for years (sometimes decades). No. Obviously, no.  

Across hundreds of cases, the courts agreed—ordering time and again that ICE release our clients from custody. Then, when the government ignored court orders, our judges stood up again leading to truly remarkable rulings like this one (featuring a few of our cases among dozens of government violations).

If you’re interested in learning more, the Minnesota Reformer highlighted our work, along with many other volunteers, in this February 2026 article. And as this chapter of Operation Metro Surge winds down, our firm can count over 30 of our clients freed. More than 30 people back home with their friends and family.

But while this stage of the federal occupation is winding down, the damage it’s done is far from over. Our neighbors remain in dire need of rent relief after months of government-sponsored terror. Children and families have suffered trauma that will last a lifetime. 

Which is why just getting our neighbors out of jail isn’t enough. True justice means reparations for the damage done, investigations and prosecutions for the crimes committed, and the complete abolition of ICE.

Say it with us: ICE out now!