DHS investigated left-leaning groups during Minnesota immigration crackdown

Following the January 2026 fatal shooting of nurse Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, the Department of Homeland Security launched invasive surveillance operations targeting left-leaning groups. Under Operation Puppet Master, federal agents subpoenaed years of financial records from labor unions and climate groups, monitored church meetings, and infiltrated Signal group chats. In June 2026, federal prosecutors indicted 15 activists for conspiracy, while immigration agencies continued expanding their surveillance capabilities through a $5 billion congressional allocation for artificial intelligence systems.

DHS surveillance of protest groups

• ▪The Department of Homeland Security scrutinized three years of wire transfers made by the Service Employees International Union as part of an inquiry into what investigators called domestic terrorist financing.
• ▪The U.S. Department of Homeland Security conducted expansive surveillance, obtained financial records, and infiltrated group chats of left-leaning political organizations in Minnesota during the first half of 2026.
• ▪The Department of Homeland Security used administrative subpoenas to obtain over three years of financial records from the Sunrise Movement and the Communications Workers of America.
• ▪Undercover Department of Homeland Security agents infiltrated activist group chats on the Signal messaging application to monitor upcoming demonstrations and political discussions.
• ▪Undercover Department of Homeland Security agents spied on protesters at online meetings, libraries, parks, and churches, recording names, license plate numbers, and political opinions.

Operation Puppet Master investigation

• ▪Homeland Security Investigations opened an investigation named Operation Puppet Master on January 28, 2026, targeting an organized network of conspirators allegedly providing material support to violent agitators.
• ▪An undercover Homeland Security Investigations informant designated UCA 9843 attended a February 2026 meeting at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and recorded license plates in the parking lot.
• ▪Homeland Security Investigations agents issued an administrative subpoena to the Federal Reserve in early March 2026 for financial records of local chapters of the Service Employees International Union.
• ▪Homeland Security Investigations cited National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 as its authority to open the Operation Puppet Master and Whipple Shield investigations.

Alex Pretti killing by ICE

• ▪The Department of Homeland Security opened its investigation into left-leaning political groups in St. Paul four days after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
• ▪Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old government nurse, was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents in late January 2026 while filming officers during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis 15 conspiracy prosecution

• ▪Federal prosecutors presented a PowerPoint slide to a grand jury alleging a conspiracy to obstruct immigration agents by 18 groups, including the AFL-CIO and Socialist Alternative.
• ▪Joint Task Force Vanguard co-chief Brian W. Lynch, who presented the conspiracy case to the grand jury, previously marched on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
• ▪The U.S. Department of Justice's Joint Task Force Vanguard indicted 15 Minnesota activists in June 2026, charging them with conspiracy and interfering with immigration agents.

AI immigration enforcement systems

• ▪Two federal judges halted an agreement between the Internal Revenue Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement that had resulted in the transfer of 47,000 taxpayer records by June 2025.
• ▪The Secure America Act, passed in June 2026, earmarked $5 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to spend on artificial intelligence.
• ▪Immigration and Customs Enforcement is developing a $30 million artificial intelligence surveillance platform called ImmigrationOS with Palantir Technologies to predict visa overstays and generate deportation lists.

5 sources