Minnesota: Businessman Gives $29 Million to Immigrants for Rent After ICE Crackdown



Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto via Getty Images

by Amy Furr 26 Jul 2026

Biotech entrepreneur John Wilson has donated $29 million in rental assistance for immigrant families after the federal crackdown on illegals in Minnesota.

Wilson and others stepped in after Operation Metro Surge saw many illegals detained and deported, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported Sunday.

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Businessman donates $29 million to help Minnesotans pay rent after ICE surge


startribune.com
Businessman donates $29 million to help Minnesotans pay rent after ICE surge
Biotech entrepreneur John Wilson has donated to community groups, churches and the city of Minneapolis to help families affected by Operation Metro Surge.

9:00 AM · Jul 26, 2026

The outlet said some immigrant households were struggling to pay their bills since the people they depended on to bring in money were gone:

Wilson’s company, Wilson Wolf Manufacturing, is a leader in cell and gene therapy and is valued at nearly $1 billion. In 2023, Wilson sold a nearly 20% stake in the company for $257 million and created the Wilson Foundation, which had about $80 million in cash as of earlier this year.

He estimates his foundation has made about 20,000 rent payments, and is continuing to give away about $1 million per week. He’s able to get money out quicker to people in need and with no restrictions like government aid.

It is important to highlight the fact that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials targeted illegal aliens that included convicted pedophiles, rapists, and violent offenders during the Minnesota operation. Those individuals, officials said, were allowed to roam the streets due to the leftist-run state’s sanctuary policies.

Operation Metro Surge also saw the arrests of illegals convicted of drunk driving, drug trafficking, burglary, murder, and domestic abuse, according to Breitbart News.

The outlet also reported recently that “Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) offered a bizarre response to the Trump administration deporting an illegal immigrant child molester he tried to protect, asking if it actually improved the idea that ‘we can’t all be judged by our worst day.'”

In March, Democrat lawmakers in Minnesota introduced a bill for a $40 million emergency rental assistance fund to shield people from eviction, Fox 9 reported.

When sharing his concerns about the move, Minnesota state Sen. Steve Drazkowski (R) said, “This bill will provide, in Hennepin County, over $7,000 to households, some of which are very likely illegal aliens because I don’t think ICE was able to scoop up all the illegal aliens in our state.”

https://www.breitbart.com/immigratio...ice-crackdown/