commentary The president touted his judges. Now they're standing up on immigration and democracy Published April 21, 2026 6:45AM (EDT) Federal immigration agents make an arrest in Chicago on Oct. 31, 2025. (Jamie Kelter Davis/Getty Images) After Operation Metro Surge, in which an estimated 3,000 federal immigration agents were deployed throughout Minnesota from December to February, resulting in over 3,700 arrests and the shooting deaths of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti, the media and political class grew bored and moved on. Donald Trump ’s mass deportation machine did not.  On April 15 NBC News reported that approximately 60,000 people are currently being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities. The administration’s stated goal is to remove 3,000 people a day from the country, with an annual target of over one million deportations.…