Full Measure After Hours: Sharyl Attkisson On Site with Operation Metro Surge

Podcast: Full Measure After Hours
Host: Sharyl Attkisson
Episode Air Date: February 19, 2026
Episode Theme: A firsthand, behind-the-scenes look at Operation Metro Surge—Minnesota’s massive and controversial crackdown on illegal immigration—examining its implementation, impact, community response, and the broader issue of crime and statistics related to illegal immigration.

Episode Overview

Sharyl Attkisson takes listeners inside her reporting stint with ICE as they conduct Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis, the largest anti-illegal immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history. She unpacks the controversy, safety concerns, impact on crime, community tensions, and offers a deep dive into crime data related to illegal immigrants, challenging commonly accepted narratives. The episode also features an on-site interview with ICE Assistant Field Director Richard Tyne.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Inside Operation Metro Surge

• Operation Scale & Controversy:
  Attkisson details the unprecedented size and controversy of Metro Surge (00:10). ICE agents specifically focused on illegal immigrants with additional criminal records, though community policies previously enabled their release without notifying ICE.
• Safety Debate:
  ICE maintains that collaboration with local jurisdictions improves safety by allowing apprehension in controlled environments, instead of risky field arrests with community tensions and potential violence (01:35).
• Escalating Confrontations:
  Lack of cooperation previously compelled ICE to conduct operations in public neighborhoods, sometimes leading to clashes with demonstrators and even violence, as “two shooting deaths” occurred during the operation (02:40).

2. Crime Data and Narrative Disputes

• Crime Rates & Representation:
  Attkisson challenges the narrative that illegal immigrants commit fewer crimes, saying, “They are drastically overrepresented in our federal prisons, numbering by one official count at one in four inmates” (03:50).
  • She asserts that statistics often conflate legal and illegal immigrants, skewing data.
  • Many jurisdictions do not distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants in crime data.
  • The most reliable metric, she argues, is their rate of incarceration relative to their population share.

3. On-the-Ground Interview: ICE Assistant Field Director Richard Tyne

[05:02 – 08:25]

• Daily Tactics & Adjustments:
  • Targeting and Surveillance:
    “We had targets that we had set up for the night before. We sent out teams... When we encountered people coming out... we identified them... they were either here in the country illegally or they had absconded from court proceedings. So... we brought them into custody.” (05:07 — Richard Tyne)
  • Recent Policy Changes:
    Cooperation with local counties allowed ICE to set detainers for criminal aliens in jail, enabling safer, more secure apprehensions.
    • “With cooperation from local counties and municipalities, it really does prevent any type of situations out in the field. There’s less probability of things going wrong.” (07:30 — Richard Tyne)
• Target Criteria:
  • Focus is on “criminal aliens, not ordinary illegal immigrants who are here not violating the law,” though agents will arrest any illegal immigrant encountered (07:00).
  • Examples: Targets with sexual offenses, DUIs, and other crimes.
• Community Tensions:
  • Cooperation alleviated some tension among officers but not significantly among the public. (07:58)
• Key Quote:
  • “Knowing that local counties and municipalities are here to help has definitely been something that the officers are welcoming. The temperature in the community, I think it's pretty much the same.” (07:58 — Richard Tyne)

4. Arrest Figures and Crime Impact

• Operation Outcomes:

  • “Operation Metro Surge removed more than 4,000 illegal immigrants from Minnesota’s neighborhoods.” (08:25)
  • Examples of apprehended criminals with histories of serious crimes, including murder, assault, sex crimes, and gang activity.

• Notable Criminal Case Highlights: (08:45)

  • Jose Alberto Benitez Rodriguez: “Nine counts of burglary, three counts of assault, seven illegal entries.”
  • Benvenotto Walter Lopez Alonzum: “Sexual assault charges.”
  • Mong Chang: “Convicted of two murders before he was picked up and somehow released and running loose in Minnesota...”

• National Crime Data:
  Using DHS, CBP, and other federal reports:

  • “Illegal immigrants have committed somewhere around 5 million serious crimes: 200,000 robberies, 100,000 rapes or sexual assaults, 30,000 murders—equivalent to the population of Santa Fe, New Mexico.” (09:45)

  Notable Quotes & Analysis:

  • “Every crime committed by an illegal immigrant is a net crime that should not have occurred.” (15:01 — Sharyl Attkisson)

5. Historical Context & Policy Connections

• Crime Reduction Trends:

  • Attkisson draws a direct connection between ramped-up deportations in Trump's second term (540,000 nationwide) and double-digit reductions in violent crime rates in 2025, including a 21% decline in homicides.
    • “Homicides plunged 21% in 2025, the largest single-year drop on record, now the lowest since at least 1900.” (12:50)

• Incarceration Data:

  • Illegal immigrants constitute roughly 1 in 30 of the general population, yet “accounted for 1 in 5 federal prison inmates” (13:45). The official figures may be undercounts.

• Prison & Cost Stats:

  • “Federal taxpayers shelled out $15 billion [for incarcerating illegal immigrants] during that relatively short time period studied." (15:38)
  • "Of about 146,500 who finished a federal prison term, about one in six... had already been imprisoned again at least once." (16:10)

6. Border Patrol Criminal Alien Arrest Trends

• Statistical Shifts (2017-2026):
  • Criminal alien arrests by Border Patrol dropped sharply under Trump, surged under Biden, and declined again when Trump returned.
    • “2017... 8,500; 2020... down to 2,438. Then look what happens... up to 17,000 [by 2024], then back down to 8,800 in 2025.” (18:30)
    • Predicts 2026 figure will come in even lower.
  • Attkisson argues these trends are rarely discussed but vital for understanding the scope and cost of illegal immigration crime in the U.S.

7. Final Reflections and Preview

• Attkisson urges deeper public engagement with the data and discussion:
  • “For some reason, that part of the discussion has really been minimized in recent years. And yet it's so important and impacting in some way every one of us.” (20:37)
• She encourages listeners to watch her full TV report and engage critically with all sourced data.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “They are drastically overrepresented in our federal prisons, numbering by one official count at one in four inmates.”
  — Sharyl Attkisson (03:50)

• “If you're in the country illegally and we encounter you, we will take you into custody.”
  — Richard Tyne, ICE Assistant Field Director (07:21)

• “Every crime committed by an illegal immigrant is a net crime that should not have occurred.”
  — Sharyl Attkisson (15:01)

• “Homicides plunged 21% in 2025, the largest single-year drop on record, now the lowest since at least 1900.”
  — Sharyl Attkisson (12:50)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:04 – Attkisson introduces the Operation Metro Surge story and on-site reporting experience.
• 02:00 – Details about ICE’s position on local cooperation and agent safety.
• 03:30 – First breakdown of illegal immigrant crime data and discussion on statistical manipulation.
• 05:02 – Start of interview with ICE Assistant Field Director Richard Tyne.
• 08:25 – Post-interview discussion; operation arrest figures and specific criminal examples.
• 12:50 – Analysis linking enforcement actions to falling crime rates.
• 13:45 – Prison population breakdown and cost discussion.
• 18:30 – Historical border crime data and analysis of policy impact.
• 20:37 – Conclusion: call for broader engagement with these critical issues.

Closing Thoughts

This episode delivers a detailed, on-the-ground look at the mechanics and consequences of the largest immigration crackdown in U.S. history, offering often-overlooked crime statistics and policy analysis. With firsthand reporting, exclusive interviews, and a strong editorial voice, Attkisson urges listeners to question prevailing narratives and consider the broader impact of immigration enforcement not just on crime, but on community, policy, and public debate.