ICE officers are leaving Minnesota as “Operation Metro Surge” comes to an end, Department of Homeland Security funding is set to run dry on Saturday, and an “illegal immigrant enclave” in Texas agrees to a $68 million settlement.
It’s Friday, February 13, 2026, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
Homan Announces End To ‘Operation Metro Surge’
Border czar Tom Homan announced the end of “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota on Thursday.
Homan said he is satisfied with his meetings with local authorities and has sufficient cooperation to conclude the operation, which means officers and agents flown in from across the country will return to their home offices. More police chiefs and sheriffs are apparently on board with honoring ICE detainers, and ICE will be readily available and stationed near jails to pick up inmates, rather than forcing local jurisdictions to hold them longer than necessary.
Homan added that President Donald Trump greenlit the decision. Homan’s announcement is the big step toward Trump’s softer approach toward interior immigration enforcement after the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Congress Stares Down Another Shutdown
Homeland Security seems poised to experience a lapse in government funding on Saturday at midnight amid an intense debate on immigration reforms.
A test vote in the Senate to see if there was enough support to pass another continuing resolution failed on Thursday afternoon. The House has gone home, but members could be asked to return if a deal is reached.
Democrats have not appeared pleased with the White House’s counteroffer on immigration reform. Details on that counteroffer are still fairly unclear. Democrats want an end to masking for agents and a change in warrants. Warrants are likely to be the hottest topic among the changes, as shifting from administrative to judicial warrants for many of these arrests could make the process much more difficult.
Trump DOJ Settles Colony Ridge Suit
A settlement has been reached in the lawsuit against Colony Ridge, the massive Texas development that became a magnet for illegal immigrants.
Colony Ridge was hailed by the developers as the fastest-growing development in the whole United States. But it wasn’t just a big development. The business model that The Daily Wire helped to uncover was that its marketing strategy was aimed exclusively at illegal immigrants, or at least foreign populations.
Ultimately, the Biden administration sued the developer over loans and the marketing strategy. The Trump administration is now jointly settling this lawsuit with Texas’s Republican attorney general. The settlement reached lays the groundwork not only to put an end to the scheme but also to provide a major boost to the surrounding communities affected by it. The settlement is $68 million, not payments to anyone, but payments to fix what they created at Colony Ridge.
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