- In 2025, average monthly rent debt among low-income households in Minnesota was $22.3 million. This is about ten times greater than the monthly budget for statewide rental assistance ($2.3 million).
- Under different scenarios regarding the proportion of immigrant households who missed rent payments in January and February 2026 as a consequence of Operation Metro Surge, the researchers estimate the total excess rent debt across Minnesota since the beginning of Operation Metro Surge is $27.4 - 51.3 million. This is on top of the $44.6 million rent debt typically expected during any two-month period in the state.
- These figures do not account for the months of March 2026 and beyond; the burden of excess rent debt on immigrant renters is expected to grow significantly over time.
Since the beginning of Operation Metro Surge on Dec. 4, 2025, thousands of Minnesotans have lost income. Many have been forced to miss work because it is not safe to commute or remain on-site due to ICE activity, while others have lost hours or seen working members of the household detained or deported. Immigrant households in Minnesota are already disproportionately exposed to unaffordable housing. Compared with similar non-immigrant households, immigrant households have lower incomes yet higher rents; 71% of immigrant households making less than $75,000 are rent burdened, spending greater than 30% of income on rent. This has created an escalating and emergent crisis situation for immigrant families across the state who are now facing the threat of eviction following missed rent payments in January and February 2026.
Prior to Operation Metro Surge, statewide rent debt – the total amount of unpaid rent that households collectively owe at a given time – was already very high. In a typical month, low-income households have rent debts of $22.3 million across Minnesota. This is around ten times higher than the monthly budget for statewide emergency rental assistance, which is roughly $2.3 million.
Economic and political shocks trigger additional, or excess, statewide rent debt. Under simple projections about increases in rent debt among low-income immigrant households since the onset of Operation Metro Surge in December 2025, we estimate that statewide rent debt as of February 2026 is $27.4 - 51.3 million in excess of average statewide rent debt of $44.6 million expected during any two-month period.
Read the full article at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs website.