Minnesota Truth Council to document impact of ICE surge News
Office of Governor Walz & Lt. Governor Flanagan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Minnesota Truth Council to document impact of ICE surge

The United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) on Friday welcomed the establishment of the Minnesota Truth Council and urged other states and jurisdictions to act similarly.

The office stated, “Victims must know the full truth about the violations, receive comprehensive reparation and be protected from further violence or retaliation. In any democracy rooted in the rule of law, such violations must never be ignored or left unaddressed.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed an executive order establishing the council on Wednesday. The council will investigate and document the effects of the ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) “Metro Surge” and Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening (PARRIS) operations.

The combined operations ran from December 2025 into February 2026. Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis were killed during these operations, but the council will not investigate their deaths. Instead, the council will refer those events to law enforcement and focus instead on the alleged widespread use of chemical agents against peaceful protestors, harm to children, unwarranted stops and arrests, other civil rights violations, and economic harm.

The council will collaborate with Advocates for Human Rights to collect the stories of what happened during the ICE operations. It has until December 1, 2026, to deliver its final report to the governor, the majority and minority leaders of the Minnesota legislature, and Minnesota’s congressional delegation.

Governor Walz stated, “Minnesotans demand and deserve a public record that reflects the violent, cruel, inhumane, and deeply disturbing actions of federal immigration agents.”

While the council will not investigate the three deaths that happened during the surge, the OHCHR pushed for a proper inquiry into the deaths. The OHCHR referred to what has become known as the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016), which sets guidelines for the investigation of suspicious deaths, especially when state agents are suspected of responsibility. The protocol acquired this name because of the substantial involvement of Advocates for Human Rights, formerly called the Minnesota Lawyers International Human Rights Committee, in writing the protocol.

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