The City of Denver has joined dozens of U.S. cities and counties in filing an amicus brief backing Minnesota’s legal action seeking to end “Operation Metro Surge” and the deployment of thousands of federal immigration agents to Minnesota.

The brief supports Minnesota v. Noem, filed by the State of Minnesota in federal court on Jan. 12, which argues the increased presence of ICE and other federal agencies in the Twin Cities area is not based on an “urgent need for enhanced and aggressive immigration enforcement,” but rather “to cause chaos” and as punishment for state and local policy, a violation of the 10th Amendment.

An amicus brief — or friend of the court brief — is a legal document that allows a party not named in the case to provide an outside perspective on an issue under litigation. 

“ICE’s occupation of American cities must end now,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said in a statement on Wednesday. “President Trump unleashed this reckless and lethal ICE invasion, and now parents are so afraid of being abducted they’re scared to take their kids to the hospital or leave the house without their passports or birth certificates.” 

Operation Metro Surge is an ongoing federal immigration enforcement effort launched in December 2025 that placed more than 3,000 federal agents in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

“ICE isn’t keeping us safe from the bad guys,” Johnston said. “Right now, they are the bad guys — and the longer they remain on our streets without immediate reforms, the more people are in danger.”

President Donald Trump softened his tone Monday on the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, touting productive conversations with the governor and Minneapolis mayor as he sent his border czar to take charge of much of the enforcement effort, according to the Associated Press.

Some federal agents were expected to leave as soon as Tuesday.

“What is happening in Minneapolis is not something that should ever happen in America,” Denver City Council President Amanda Sandoval said in a statement. “Families, immigrant and otherwise, are living in fear, and two American citizens are dead.”

Johnston told reporters at a news conference on Monday, where he rolled out his 2026 citywide goals, that he is “heartbroken and furious” about what’s happening in Minneapolis.

“I would want ICE out of my city as quickly as he (Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey) would, because as he said, it does not make the city safer,” Johnston said. “So, I feel as strongly as he does, and I would support him or another mayor as much as I would expect them to support us in the situation.”

This is not Denver’s first legal move challenging the president. The city has filed five lawsuits and two additional amicus briefs against the Trump administration to protect federal funding, preserve city policy, and defend individuals’ rights to seek reproductive care.

“We know this administration isn’t interested in accountability,” Sandoval said. “So, it’s time for the court to show it still cares about the rule of law and prevent this from happening to another city.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.