Overview
- Faith leaders and civil‑rights groups say Homeland Security Investigations placed undercover agents inside Twin Cities churches during and after Operation Metro Surge, recording meetings and logging attendee and license‑plate data.
- DHS acknowledged in recent court filings that agents entered Baptist, Episcopal, Lutheran and Unitarian Universalist congregations in Minnesota and at least one Lutheran parish in Michigan.
- Plaintiffs asked a federal judge to hold the government in contempt for violating a February injunction that bars immigration‑ enforcement actions at certain houses of worship, and a video hearing is scheduled for Friday, September 4, 2026 to resolve that request.
- The government denies it violated the injunction, says the activity was part of a criminal investigation to protect federal officers, and has resisted turning over agents’ notes and other internal records to plaintiffs and defense teams.
- Church leaders say the undercover surveillance compounded trauma from the Metro Surge enforcement campaign and could chill worship and community aid, and the court’s decision may set limits on immigration‑enforcement surveillance while related prosecutions continue.