Survey: Operation Metro Surge left UMN students disappointed by the university and less trustful of democracy

The survey also found impacts on mental health and political engagement — and that many students still carried identification documents to campus well after the surge ended.

University of Minnesota students report lower levels of trust in police and less faith in U.S. democracy following the federal government’s Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis early this year, according to an AccessU: Upended survey.  

According to the survey conducted in March —  the first to measure how undergraduate students on the Twin Cities campus viewed and experienced the federal immigration enforcement operation — a majority of respondents said they were dissatisfied with how the university’s administration responded to the events of the surge, particularly in prioritizing student safety and in communicating and executing clear safety plans for students.

Other notable results:

• About 60% of respondents said Operation Metro Surge adversely affected their mental health. Of them, 45% said the impact was significant or very significant.
• Almost a quarter of respondents said their classes were affected by modality change due to Operation Metro Surge, and more than half of those affected said it somewhat interfered with their learning. 
• More than half of respondents said they had become more politically involved since the beginning of Operation Metro Surge, although most said their political views remained unchanged. Roughly 47% of respondents said the events of Operation Metro Surge would impact their vote in the upcoming midterm election.

Methodology

The survey, sent by email between March 15 and March 23 to a random sample of 5,000 undergraduate students, asked about experiences during Operation Metro Surge and the perceived impact it had on students’ political views and the campus community. A total of 298 responses were collected — a 6% response rate. Due to the sample size, these findings cannot be extrapolated to the entire student population yet still offer insights to student views. 

Nearly 40% of respondents identified themselves as students of color. This percentage roughly aligns with the university’s demographics, with students of color making up about 43% of undergraduates enrolled in Fall 2025. Just over 50% of respondents said they were affiliated with the Democratic Party, while roughly 8% identified with the Republican Party. Others said they were affiliated with a third party, preferred not to say or didn’t know.

The final portion of the survey allowed students to leave comments, some of which are included here. The comments were anonymous because of the confidential nature of the survey.

Inaction from the university 

When asked their views on the university’s response to Operation Metro Surge, the majority of respondents said they were dissatisfied with how the university responded to the surge.

A notable 68% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the university should have declared itself a sanctuary campus. In other words, according to Immigrants Rising, a nonprofit advocacy organization, a sanctuary campus is one that accepts it does not “have the legal authority or resources to engage in federal immigration enforcement and thus should not cooperate with federal agencies in their efforts to identify, detain or deport undocumented immigrant students.”

In the past, the university administration responded to political upheaval in the community with decisive actions, such as cutting ties with the Minneapolis Police Department in the wake of George Floyd’s killing in 2020 and filing a brief supporting a lawsuit opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement restrictions on international students that same year. During the surge, university administrators limited their responses to general “rapid response” guidelines, inclusivity statements and memorials for alumnus Alex Pretti, who was killed by ICE agents in late January. 

“Knowing how the University acted, regardless of their intentions, has made me decide that I will not give a cent to them after graduation,” one respondent wrote.

Roughly 60% of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that the university did all it could to support students after the murders of Renee Good and Pretti. 

“I did not feel supported by the university at all,” another respondent wrote.

Furthermore, 45% of respondents said the university failed to prioritize student safety during the surge, compared to 28% who said their safety had been prioritized. In the same vein, 44% of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that the university communicated and executed clear safety plans; 23% of respondents agreed.

Taking precautionary measures

Many respondents said they were personally affected by Operation Metro Surge. Nearly 44% said they carried identification documents with them on campus during that time. Of those, three in four continued to carry those documents with them after the surge was declared over.

“As a new and confused transfer student, I felt fear every day walking onto campus,” one respondent wrote. “I carried both my ID and passport at all times and avoided in-person spaces whenever remote options were available.”

In the survey, 59 respondents reported that they or a family member had a personal encounter with a federal immigration enforcement agent during the surge. Of these respondents, almost half said they had been asked to show their documents. 

Ten respondents reported themselves or a family member experiencing violence at the hands of a federal agent.

Thirteen respondents said a federal agent had detained them or a family member. Of them, 10 said that they or a family member had been sent out of the state after being detained. 

“It has impacted so many of my friends and family every day during the Operation Metro Surge,” another respondent wrote. “We’d have to carry our passports, IDs and birth certificates just to prove we were U.S. citizens, and even then, the papers were not enough to subside our fears of mistreatment and racial profiling.”

Trust in institutions

Respondents also expressed feelings of distrust toward institutions outside the university. More than 62% of respondents said their trust in law enforcement was significantly lower or a little lower than it was before Operation Metro Surge began, compared to those who answered “basically the same” or higher. 

“The only people I saw actually helping the situation were the common people,” one respondent wrote. “MPD, UMPD, the St. Paul Police Department and the University of Minnesota administration were seen on multiple occasions aiding or appeasing ICE officers, and in the case of the police officers, it was after being told not to by higher officials.”

The largest decline in trust involved faith in American democracy. Only 28% of students reported feeling no change or more faith in U.S. democracy after Operation Metro Surge. By contrast, 49% of respondents said their faith was “significantly lower” following the surge.

“We were the ones that were supposed to be taking in refugees,” another respondent wrote. “I’m terrified. Our government creates the terror and calls people who label themselves as anti-fascists ‘terrorists.’”

Even as their faith in the country’s political institutions declined, more than half of respondents said they became more politically involved since Operation Metro Surge began and supported the protest actions against ICE agents and their tactics. 

Additionally, 47% said the events of the surge would change the way they planned to vote in the upcoming midterm elections. 

However, not all respondents said they feel safe participating in protests. 

“I try to keep myself out of political activity like protests out of fear that I am risking my life if I go out there,” another respondent wrote. 

Only 12.8% of respondents believed the tactics used by federal agents during Operation Metro Surge would stop now that the surge has officially ended. The majority of respondents who said they carried documentation to campus also said they are still carrying those papers, indicating that tensions remain high and the effects of the operation linger.   

“They haven’t left, we all know it,” one respondent wrote. “They’re still here, and they are still taking people out of MSP every day.”

Where does this leave the campus community?

The survey respondents were asked whether they thought the long-term impacts of Operation Metro Surge were positive, negative or nonexistent. The majority of respondents — more than 70% — chose negative. 

When asked the main reason they chose negative, of the four options provided almost 55% of respondents selected “continued concern about safety on campus and beyond,” followed by “the university administration’s response to the surge and students’ needs” at almost 31%. 

Nearly 11% of respondents cited “a more divided, polarized campus community,” and just over 3% of respondents said “continued and more populous protests on campus” was the main reason for the long-term negative impact.

Only 10% of respondents said the long-term outcome of Operation Metro Surge was positive. The two main reasons they selected were: “the knowledge that people have each other’s backs,” followed by “the sense that we are safer because of ICE’s work.” Two respondents chose “the national reputation Minneapolis gained as a resilient city” as a reason for a positive long-term impact. Nobody chose the option stating “the awareness of more volunteer opportunities.” 

Comments also reflected a range of experiences and views from students on campus: 

“I feel both more and less united with my peers; more united with those who I saw engaging with the community and less with those who wanted to ignore it because it made them uncomfortable to think about,” one respondent wrote. 

“This was sadly a necessary measure due to the high numbers of illegal immigrants let in by the Biden administration,” another respondent wrote. “The disgraceful news outlets and politicians that stoked the masses led to the unnecessary deaths of Good and Pretti. I hope in the future that politicians from both sides can come together for immigration reform.”

“The actions of the university community made me proud to be a part of the student body,” a third respondent wrote. “Our organization was unlike any other I’d seen, and the dedication of so many to the safety of our university’s community, and that of the city at large, was incredible.”

This story was also reported and written by Josi Wise.