Hennepin County shuts down $2 million ICE-impact business aid program after fraud surge

Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, quietly terminated a $2 million reimbursement program intended for businesses that alleged losses due to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Operation Metro Surge. The operation, launched in December, resulted in more than 4,000 illegal migrants being arrested across Minnesota. County staff examined roughly 300 applications but could confirm only 82, uncovering numerous false addresses, AI-generated narratives, and nonexistent businesses.

Commissioner Jeffrey Lunde warned that the lack of deterrence encouraged the fraud and led to the program’s shutdown. The move occurs against a backdrop of extensive fraud investigations in the state, such as the $250 million Feeding Our Future scheme involving members of the Somali community and multiple Department of Justice prosecutions. Officials said they stopped processing further claims once the fraud rate became untenable.