Thousands of students will return to Minnesota's largest university for the start of the spring semester on Tuesday.

With thousands of federal agents active in the state as part of Operation Metro Surge, the University of Minnesota says it's making changes to support students, faculty and staff.

University leadership says the adjustments are meant to prioritize access, safety and flexibility while maintaining a safe, inclusive and productive environment for all members of our community.

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The U.S. Department of Justice says claims made in a lawsuit seeking an immediate stop to the surge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota are "legally frivolous."

The federal agency made the remark in a memorandum filed with the U.S. District Court in Minnesota on Monday, which argued against a motion made by the state of Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul for a temporary injunction.

While Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday, the judge said the issue was too important to wait.

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Outside of the Twin Cities, communities in greater Minnesota are feeling the impact of ICE activity.

A week ago, hundreds of protesters confronted federal agents at a Somali mall in St. Cloud.

"I saw the fear, firsthand," said St. Cloud Police Chief Jeff Oxton. "I saw the emotions. I saw the anger. I saw all of that."

What happened last Monday is new, even for Oxton.

"There is no playbook for this," said Mayor Jake Anderson. "We have not gone through this before. As Chief noted, we've never seen that number of federal authorities in our community doing that type of activity."  

The mayor and chief said the challenge is keeping a balance between two sides.   

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Amid a blare of horns and shouting from witnesses, federal agents removed an elderly Hmong-American man from his St. Paul, Minnesota, home on Sunday.

"It is heartbreaking. It is infuriating to see U.S. citizens, and this gentleman was a U.S. citizen, ripped out of his house without a shirt on, without a coat, without pants, wearing his boxers and Crocs. I don't know how anyone could watch that happen to anyone," Mark Goldberg said.

The family of the man taken from the home, Chongly Scott Thao, says it was a case of mistaken identity.

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The number of ICE arrests across Minnesota are growing. In an X post Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said her department has arrested 3,000 "criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists and incredibly dangerous individuals" in the past six weeks as part of Operation Metro Surge.

Among those 3,000 people is a couple who have called Minnesota home since 1999. They were pulled over in Inver Grove Heights and detained on their way to work on Jan. 12.

Kelsy, Cecilia and Kimberly Silva Sosa says they are a happy family who can now only be described as sad.

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The Justice Department is vowing to bring charges against protesters who interrupted a Sunday church service in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

The website of St. Paul-based Cities Church lists David Easterwood as a pastor, and his personal information appears to match that of the David Easterwood identified in court filings as the acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement St. Paul field office.  
 
Video inside the church shows when anti-ICE protesters interrupted the service. Black Lives Matter Twin Cities founder Chauntyll Allen was there.     
 
"We went to the church and we knew that we were going to disrupt the service. We knew that we were going to disrupt and ask some questions. We didn't know that it was going to turn into a full-on protest," Allen said.
 
She says members of Black Lives Matter Minnesota and Racial Justice Network were also there to tell the congregation that Easterwood works with ICE.
 
The last sermon WCCO found of him on YouTube was last April. And our cameras captured David Easterwood at a press conference alongside Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in October. 
 
"My name is David Easterwood. I'm the acting field office director for enforcement and removal operations, ERO St. Paul," Easterwood said.

"In general, the basic rule is you probably shouldn't be interfering with other people's church services," David Schultz, political science and First Amendment expert, said.

Schultz says charges could depend on intent.

"If you do trespass against a church, try to break up a church service, and you do so with a certain type of, let's say, intent, or certain type of goals, it could rise to either a criminal or a civil matter in terms of a violation of civil rights law," Schultz said.

Allen stands by their actions. 

"Interrupting a church service to inform the community of individuals that are terrorizing our community, that are standing in their pulpit, that's what we should be doing as citizens," Allen said.

WCCO asked if Allen is worried about civil or criminal charges.

"I'm concerned that our citizens, on a hole, are in danger right now and I'm willing to put anything on the line for our democracy," Allen said.

Schultz said people could face a fine from a civil rights investigation. Criminal charges could carry jail time. 

St. Paul police responded to the scene on Sunday. By that time, police said protesters were out of the church. 

Police told WCCO the incident is part of an active disorderly conduct investigation.    

President Trump took to his Truth Social platform Monday afternoon to lament how ICE operations in the Twin Cities — which have led to two shootings by federal officers in a seven-day span, one of which killed Renee Good — is taking focus off Minnesota's billion-dollar fraud scandals.

"In Minnesota, there is too much media attention on ICE, who have removed some of the worst murderers and criminals in the World, people let into our Country by Crooked Joe Biden's horrendous Open Border Policy, and not enough attention paid to the staggering sums of money stolen from the State by corrupt Minnesota politicians!" Trump wrote.

Mr. Trump's comments come as hundreds of Alaska-based paratroopers are on standby to deploy to Minnesota in his administration's attempt to quell protests against Operation Metro Surge.

Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, said in a social media post on Sunday night that federal officers are "upholding the law" and local and state police "have been ordered to stand down and surrender." 

Miller shared the comments on X while reposting a claim from a user named Miranda Devine that "Local cops have gone AWOL."

Devine had shared a post Sunday afternoon from another user, who said, in part, "The things im hearing out of Minneapolis are insane. Activists forcing their way into churches, attacking random pedestrians, stalking SUVs."

Miller did not expand on his social media comments. It was not clear whether Miller intended for the message to be read as a description of events or interpreted as a directive. Miller serves as an advisor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The Department of Justice on Monday afternoon filed its intent to appeal a recent ruling that limits tactics federal law enforcement are permitted to use in their handling of ongoing protests in Minneapolis.

The notice of appeal comes just days after U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez blocked federal agents who are deployed to Minnesota as part of the Trump administration's immigration operations from using pepper spray or nonlethal munitions on, or arresting, peaceful protesters.

The order also bars federal law enforcement from stopping or detaining drivers and passengers when there is "no reasonable articulable suspicion" that people driving near protests are forcibly interfering with law enforcement operations.

On Sunday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the order "a little ridiculous."

"We only use those chemical agents when there's violence happening and perpetuating and you need to be able to establish law and order to keep people safe," Noem said. "So that judge's order didn't change anything for how we're operating on the ground, because it's basically telling us to do what we've already been doing."

According to new reporting from CNN, the Trump administration is still discussing invoking the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, but only as a last resort.

Attributing their reporting to senior administration officials, invoking the act is something "they haven't yet moved closer to doing" as of yet.

President Trump made similar statements about using the Insurrection Act last fall when federal immigration enforcement forces had their sites turned on the Chicago area for "Operation Midway Blitz." Ultimately, he refrained from invoking it.

Federal ICE and Border Patrol agents have carried out over 3,000 arrests in the Minneapolis area since the start of Operation Metro Surge, according to Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.

There are estimated to now be at least 3,000 ICE and CBP agents and officers deployed in the area. 

The mayor of Minneapolis said Sunday that sending active duty soldiers into Minnesota to help with an immigration crackdown is a ridiculous and unconstitutional idea as he urged protesters to remain peaceful so the president won't see a need to send in the U.S. military.

The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers based in Alaska who specialize in operating in arctic conditions to be ready in case of a possible deployment to Minnesota, two defense officials said Sunday.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans, said two infantry battalions of the Army's 11th Airborne Division have been given prepare-to-deploy orders. One defense official said the troops are standing by to deploy to Minnesota should President Donald Trump invoke the Insurrection Act.

"It's ridiculous, but we will not be intimidated by the actions of this federal government," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told CNN's State of the Union on Sunday. "It is not fair, it's not just, and it's completely unconstitutional."

Thousands of Minneapolis citizens are exercising their First Amendment rights and the protests have been peaceful, Frey said.

"We are not going to take the bait. We will not counter Donald Trump's chaos with our own brand of chaos here," Frey said.

Gov. Tim Walz has mobilized the Minnesota National Guard, although no units have been deployed to the streets.

The Department of Justice said Sunday it is investigating a group of protesters in Minnesota who disrupted services at a church where a local official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apparently serves as a pastor.

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Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara says he worries about escalating tensions amid U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the area. But top ICE official Marcos Charles says his officers act "lawfully and with professionalism."

CBS News recently spoke with O'Hara and Charles, who oversees arrests and deportations nationwide, including Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis. Both are veteran law enforcement officers who have very different views of what is unfolding.

See the interviews here.

A 36-year-old man who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis died while in federal custody in Texas on Wednesday, according to the agency. 

Security personnel found Victor Manuel Diaz unconscious and unresponsive in his room at Camp East Montana in El Paso, according to ICE. 

El Paso Emergency Medical Services were notified at 3:35 p.m. local time and were at the site attempting life-saving measures 10 minutes later, the federal agency said. Diaz died at 4:09 p.m.

"He died of a presumed suicide," ICE said in a statement. "However, the official cause of his death remains under investigation." 

Diaz was arrested by federal officers on Jan. 6. According to federal officials, he was a Nicaraguan who entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico on March 26, 2024. He was encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents that same day. 

"After processing, he was served a notice to appear before an immigration judge and released on parole pending his court date," the federal agency said.

According to federal officials, an immigration judge ordered Diaz be removed from the country last August. 

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As immigration enforcement operations continue throughout the Twin Cities, the National Weather Service has issued a cold weather advisory as temperatures fall, winds pick up and the area reaches what records indicate is traditionally the coldest stretch of weather of the year.

The advisory was issued for Sunday evening and lasting at least through noon Monday, calling for "very cold wind chills as low as 35 below expected."

"The cold wind chills as low as 35 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes," the agency reported.

Enforcement operations are also being carried out in Greater Minnesota, where the NWS has issued a winter weather advisory as fresh snow and wind gusts lead to "widespread low visibility."

One of the breaking developments late last week was that the U.S. Justice Department has opened criminal investigations into Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for allegedly obstructing the work of federal agents. 

Appearing on WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy, Attorney General Keith Ellison called this latter investigation "from the playbook."

"This is the president who is persecuting Jerome Powell of the Fed, who tried to prosecute James Comey of the FBI, and the current attorney general of New York, Letitia James. He uses the criminal justice system to persecute the people he doesn't like," Ellison said.

As federal agents continue to square off against Minneapolis residents, the battle over the ICE enforcement surge continues to heat up in court filings. One lawsuit is seeking an immediate temporary restraining order limiting ICE activities. The judge said last week she would not issue the temporary restraining order until she heard a response from the federal government. That response is due to be filed at 5 p.m. Monday.

Hennepin Healthcare confirms that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security served a subpoena to inspect the Level 1 trauma center's employment forms. This subpoena was, according to hospital officials, served on Jan. 8, one day after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good in south Minneapolis.

"Employers are required by law to verify employees' identity and employment eligibility using an I-9 form, and the agency is legally authorized to inspect this information. Hennepin Healthcare follows federal regulations to properly verify employment eligibility and has supplied the information required by the subpoena," Hennepin Healthcare officials told WCCO.

WCCO reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to ask whether similar subpoenas have been served to other Minnesota trauma centers. The agency's response did not address that question.

A Libyan man who has been in Minnesota for medical treatment for a rare skin condition — Epidermolysis Bullosa, which makes his skin extremely fragile, causing it to tear easily— has been detained by ICE agents.

Hani Duglof's condition also affects the esophagus, meaning he can only eat soft foods. Often, he said, his pleas for soft food were ignored. 

"'I'm sorry, this isn't a five-star hotel,'" Duglof said one official told him. 

He said that, after being detained, the cramped concrete rooms of the Whipple building immediately caused his skin to blister. 

"They handcuffed me, I felt like (I was) being treated like a criminal," Duglof said. "They tried to take my fingerprints, but because of my condition, I don't have fingerprints." 

Duglof is among the reported 2,500 people ICE said the agency has detained since the start of Operation Metro Surge in early December.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey appeared on CBS News' "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" Sunday morning, and in his conversation said the administration's immigration operations in Minnesota's largest city feel like an "occupying force that has quite literally invaded our city."

Frey continued, "You can go through whatever rhetorical flourish you want, but when you have 3,000 ICE agents and border control come to the city, when you've got this supposed threat of 1,500 military coming to the city, yeah, that's very much what it feels like."

Frey's appearance followed Brennan's conversation with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who called on state leaders to "set up a peaceful protest zone so that these individuals can exercise their First Amendment rights and do so peacefully." 

Frey retorted, "First Amendment speech is not limited to one park or one section of the city. ... You can't have just one section of a city. That's not the way First Amendment works."

The St. Paul Veterans Affairs' Regional Benefit Office announced that they will temporarily close their office at the Whipple federal building in south Minneapolis.

"We're temporarily closed. During this time, we will have staff available at the Minneapolis VAMC and virtually, via VERA," read a banner posted at the top of the agency's website as of Sunday morning.

About 1,500 active-duty soldiers are on standby for possible deployment to Minneapolis, a U.S. defense official told CBS News Saturday.

ABC News was first to report that the soldiers were on standby. 

The soldiers — from the 11th Airborne Division at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska — are one option the military is planning for if President Trump decides to use active-duty military personnel, the official said.

No decision has yet been made on whether to deploy the soldiers, the official said.

Mr. Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in order to send federal troops into Minneapolis. 

Hundreds of counterprotesters drowned out a far-right activist's attempt to hold a small rally in support of the Trump administration's latest immigration crackdown in Minneapolis on Saturday, as the governor's office announced that National Guard troops were mobilized and ready to assist law enforcement though not yet deployed to city streets.

There have been protests every day since the Department of Homeland Security ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers.

Conservative influencer Jake Lang organized an anti-Islam, anti-Somali and pro-ICE demonstration, saying on social media beforehand that he intended to "burn a Quran" on the steps of City Hall. But it was not clear if he carried out that plan.

Only a small number of people showed up for Lang's demonstration, while hundreds of counterprotesters converged at the site, yelling over his attempts to speak and chasing the pro-ICE group away. They forced at least one person to take off a shirt they deemed objectionable.

Lang appeared to be injured as he left the scene, with bruises and scrapes on his head.

Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before receiving clemency as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping act of clemency for Jan. 6 defendants last year. Lang recently announced that he is running for U.S. Senate in Florida.

In Minneapolis, snowballs and water balloons were also thrown before an armored police van and heavily equipped city police arrived.

"We're out here to show Nazis and ICE and DHS and MAGA you are not welcome in Minneapolis," protester Luke Rimington said. "Stay out of our city, stay out of our state. Go home."

The Minneapolis Police Department released a statement regarding Saturday's protests. 

"Today, when crowds blocked roadways, vehicles were used to block roadways, MPD deployed resources and made public announcements for people move to the sidewalk or out of the area. This occurred several times. In general, crowds were responsive to those directives." 

The City of Minneapolis urged on social media for community members to continue to be peaceful and lawful in the presence of federal immigration agents. 

City and state leaders have repeated this message since the protests first started. 

Conservative activist Jake Lang posted on social media that he was injured during today's protests. 

Lang organized an anti-Islam protest in front of Minneapolis City Hall, which was met with counterprotesters. Social media videos are circulating that show Lang visibly bleeding. In some, Lang can be seen on the ground. 

Several physical altercations occurred during the two opposing protests. 

The Minneapolis Police Department said it's aware of social media accounts of Lang being assaulted, and that, as of Friday night, an official report hasn't been filed with authorities.

"MPD encourages anyone who has experienced assaultive behavior to report the incident as soon as possible and provide as much detail as they can, including the date, time, and location of the incident, a description of any suspects, and the nature and extent of any injuries sustained," the agency said in a written statement.

WCCO has not heard if there were other injuries. 

The Minnesota National Guard posted on social media that they are on standby and ready to assist local law enforcement and public safety agencies. 

The post also said if members are activated, they will be wearing reflective vests to help distinguish them from other agencies in similar uniforms. 

Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobsen and Major General Shawn Manke with the Minnesota National Guard discussed measures the state is taking at a news conference on Friday afternoon. Manke said members have been mobilized, though they will not be used unless needed.   

In a social media post Saturday, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said that the Minnesota National Guard had been mobilized at the direction of Gov. Tim Walz, but had not yet been deployed to city streets. 

"They are not deployed to city streets at this time, but are ready to help support public safety, including protection of life, preservation of property and supporting the rights of all who assemble peacefully," the agency wrote.  

Walz earlier this month issued a warning order to prepare the National Guard in response to the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.  

Protesters arrived at Minneapolis City Hall early Saturday afternoon. 

Minneapolis Police were on scene to clear protesters out of the road and steer them back to the permitted area. 

Heated exchanges have erupted between opposing protests outside City Hall. Aerial footage over the scene has shown several physical altercations between protesters.

Conservative activist Jake Lang organized an anti-Islam protest in front of City Hall. Lang was met with a counterprotest set up by the People's Action Coalition Against Trump. Lang was charged with assaulting an officer, civil disorder and other crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 riot before President Trump pardoned him.

Protesters moved from in front of City Hall to a separate part of downtown Minneapolis. Crowds blocked the street and prevented the flow of traffic.

Police officers on the scene worked to clear a nearby street and threatened crowd control measures around 1:40 p.m. before protesters started moving.

The Saint Paul Federation of Educators released a statement that the Executive Board agreed to support the Day of Action. 

The Day of Action is scheduled for Friday in response to Operation Metro Surge. Minnesotans are urged to not go to work, school or go shopping.

According to the SPFE, the three demands for the day of action are: 

• ICE must leave Minnesota now. 
• The officer who killed Renee Good must be held legally accountable 
• No additional federal funding for ICE in the upcoming budget 
  

The federation said in part, 

"We find ourselves at a moment in time — yet again — that demands we stand in our values to protect the lives of our students and their families. Our union has never backed down from challenging and difficult choices. The importance of all of us standing together in community to show our families and our nation that we will hold the line for what is right cannot be understated."

Legal expert Joe Tamburino joined WCCO on Saturday morning and weighed in on the federal investigation into Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. 

He called the Department of Justice's investigation a "stretch," called for calm and talked next steps. 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are under federal investigation over an alleged conspiracy to impede federal immigration agents, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

One of the sources, a U.S. official, said the investigation stems from statements that Walz and Frey have made about the thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents deployed to the Minneapolis region in recent weeks.  

Subpoenas are likely to be issued in the probe, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.  

Professor David Schultz, a First Amendment law expert with Hamline University and University of St. Thomas School of Law, said he doesn't expect the investigation to hold much water. 

Schultz explained that public comments from both Walz and Frey fall under protected speech, noting that the bar would be incredibly high if the federal government is attempting to argue that either of them have verbally encouraged a "real overt act of obstruction." 

"There's no case on record, let us say in the modern history of the First Amendment, that has taken mere criticism to be equivalent to obstruction of justice," Schultz said, adding that it's no surprise to him that President Trump is using the DOJ to further complicate life for Walz and other Minnesota officials.   

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Families impacted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests are worried about the safety and well-being of those left behind. 

Scarlett, A 2-year-old girl, is living in a haven in Minnesota thanks to a Delegation of Parental Authority form.

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Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobsen says his agency and other state officials are aware and prepared for the planned protests this weekend. 

"We want to be there to be helpful. We want to be there to keep the peace and, again, let's be Minnesotans. Let's be those who want to do this the right way, to demonstrate, to share your opinions, to share your values, to share your thoughts, but to do it in a way that doesn't incite violence, that doesn't bring anymore harm," Jacobsen said in a news conference on Friday afternoon. 

That includes one that could come through downtown Minneapolis, as well as a counter protest planned in the same area.