Operation Metro Surge, which sent a record number of immigration agents to Minnesota, may be nearing its end, but nonprofits that receive calls for assistance say there will likely be ripple effects felt for weeks and months to come.
HOME Line, which has a free legal hotline for renters, said January was its busiest month ever for new people reaching out by phone and email with questions.
Compared to the same time period last year, there was a 116% spike in inquiries about financial aid.
“That’s kind of unheard of,” said Eric Hauge, co-executive director of HOME Line, a tenant advocacy organization that has been around for more than three decades. “Even during the first months of the pandemic, we didn’t get those kind of numbers for financial aid questions. So it’s very clear that this is tied to this surge.”
Hauge said the stories callers have shared showcase an economic crisis: People are fearful of leaving their homes, regardless of their immigration status. Others have lost their jobs. The primary income providers of the household have been detained, so their families are falling behind on their bills.
The increase in requests seeking help in January came a month after the year ended with more than 25,000 evictions filed in Minnesota in 2025, which Hauge said is the highest the organization has ever seen.
He explained that evictions “trail harm,” so the volume of calls about financial assistance could indicate a wave of evictions could be coming. Having that on an individual’s record is destabilizing in the near term, as the person loses their housing, but it can also be devastating in the future.
Under state law, there is a 14-day pre-eviction notice required for nonpayment of rent, which delays the impact.
“There was already an eviction crisis to begin with, and this is making that even worse,” Hauge told WCCO News in an interview Friday.
Separately, Greater Twin Cities United Way tracked a similar trend of requests for financial assistance to its 211 helpline. Calls and texts related to housing stability are up more than 103% and rental assistance inquiries increased 235%.
The community needs in response to the ICE surge are already prompting discussions about policy proposals at the Minnesota State Capitol, where the Legislature will begin the 2026 session next week.
Among the DFL lawmakers’ ideas they vow to bring forward are emergency rental assistance and an eviction moratorium. Gov. Tim Walz is proposing $10 million in forgivable loans for small businesses that took a financial hit.
“There is massive economic destabilization happening because of the actions of ICE that’s affecting communities in a very broad way and Minnesotans in a broad way,” DFL Rep. Mike Howard, co-chair of the Minnesota House Housing Finance and Policy committee, said during a news conference on Jan. 21. “Specifically, Minnesotans are facing potential challenges with making rent because of how many businesses are shuttered and families unable to get to work to care for loved ones.”
Any measure will need bipartisan support in a divided Capitol, where Republicans and Democrats share power in a tied House. GOP House Speaker Lisa Demuth said in an interview this week that she thinks a drawdown of the number of federal agents in the state would “take the legislative pressure off” of the Legislature responding.
Hauge noted that there have been many grassroots mutual aid efforts to get food to families and assist with paying for their rent, in addition to nonprofit groups working to plug those gaps. But he argues government intervention is necessary given the scope of the impact.
“Some of that is working, but it does not replace the role that the government has in an emergency, in a crisis — which we are in,” he said.