Alexandria is one of more than 80 local governments and leaders to join a coalition challenging the Trump administration’s recent surge of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota.
The coalition, co-led by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, has filed an amicus brief arguing that Trump’s deployment of more than 3,000 armed ICE agents to Minnesota — called “Operation Metro Surge” — is unconstitutional. Along with Alexandria, signatories include the governments of major cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle, alongside legal nonprofit Public Rights Project.
The brief argues that Operation Metro Surge violated the Constitution “by coercing local governments to redirect resources to support its federal immigration agenda and by sending an unprecedented number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who are deploying unlawful tactics, to Minneapolis and St. Paul,” according to a press release from Public Rights Project.
Specifically, the brief alleges that the operation violates the Tenth Amendment, which “protects the sovereignty of States and bars the federal government from commandeering state and local resources for federal purposes.”
“This argument has been upheld in cases around the country where the Trump Administration has sought to strip funding or otherwise punish jurisdictions with local policies disfavored by the President,” the City of Boston wrote in a press release.
The City of Alexandria is the only Virginia city in the coalition. It is joined in the filing by nearby Mount Rainier, Md., and Baltimore, along with more than 80 mayors, cities and counties.
The brief supports a lawsuit filed by the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul against leaders in the Department of Homeland Security, as the jurisdictions seek a temporary restraining order against the deployment.
“ICE’s aggressive enforcement tactics have created mass unrest in the community, undermined public safety, injured several Minnesotans, including children, and led to the death of civilian Renee Nicole Good,” the City of Boston wrote.
The coalition alleges that the deployment and similar actions “have caused widespread harm across America.” In the release, the Public Rights Project decries recent impacts of ICE enforcement, including the reported use of tear gas on children and increased absences in schools.
“Local governments shouldn’t have to govern under threat,” said Jill Habig, CEO of Public Rights Project. “Operation Metro Surge is a military occupation of an American city. Cities are standing together against this coercion campaign that spreads fear, diverts local resources and undermines public safety.”
Earlier this month, following an “ICE Out for Good” protest that drew hundreds in Alexandria after an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis, Mayor Alyia Gaskins said on Instagram that her “commitment to and solidarity with our immigrant neighbors remains unchanged.”
“What we have seen happen in Minnesota over the past few days is horrifying,” Gaskins said. “Renee Good should be alive, and she should be preparing to tuck in her babies tonight, just like I will do with mine. Our immigrant neighbors should be able to walk, live and have joy and plan their futures with their children without fear and anxiety.”
She added, “The way that we have seen ICE show up, it is not making our community safer. It is only dividing us, and it’s that type of division that we won’t stand for in Alexandria.”
In November, Gaskins and City Council called on the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office to cease transferring of inmates to ICE custody via administrative detainers and warrants. In 2025, the office transferred 54 inmates to ICE — the office’s highest annual transfer count since 2019.
“We ask that [Sheriff Sean Casey] join the Sheriffs in Arlington and Fairfax who only complete transfers in compliance with judicial warrants,” they wrote in a joint statement.
In response, Casey said in a statement that “I do not—and will not— enforce immigration law in our community,” and maintained that the office does not authorize inmate transfers “based on an ICE detainer alone.”
“Despite years of discussion with City Councils dating back to 2017, they remain confused about the difference between a lawful arrest warrant and an ICE detainer,” he said.
An internal ICE memo obtained by the Associated Press this month shows the agency is reportedly permitting officers to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant. However, AP reported it is unclear “how broadly the memo’s directive has been applied in immigration enforcement operations.”
Only warrants signed by judges officially authorize officers to enter private spaces without consent.
ALXnow has reached out to Gaskins for comment.
