King County has joined a lawsuit challenging a federal immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, arguing that the deployment of masked and armed federal agents into the Minneapolis metro area is unconstitutional and unlawful, according to a statement released Monday, Jan. 26, 2026 by King County Executive Girmay Zahilay. The county signed onto an amicus brief in the case Minnesota v. Noem, which challenges what federal officials have called “Operation Metro Surge,” a recent immigration enforcement effort in Minnesota. Zahilay said the county joined the filing after concerns that the operation is creating fear and instability in immigrant communities. “King County stands with the people of Minnesota in pushing back against the dangerous, illegal, and unconstitutional deployment of federal immigration enforcement agents into their state,” Zahilay said. “Operation Metro Surge is by far the most extensive, aggressive, reckless, and chaotic deployment yet.