You link first, since you made the first claim. A poster is not a source, lionfish.
However, I will call you out. From <reason.com/2026/02/11/a-viral-story-claims-an-ice-worker-was-caught-in-a-child-sex-trafficking-sting-the-truth-is-much-stranger/?utm_source=copilot.com>
1. Bloomington, MN “child sex trafficking sting” (2025–2026)
These operations were widely described by politicians and headlines as “child sex trafficking stings,” but the underlying facts show something very different:
• 2026 sting — 30 arrests, 0 trafficking victims rescued
This operation (“Operation Lookin’ for Love in All the Wrong Places”) involved undercover officers posing as adult sex workers.
- 28 arrests were misdemeanors
- 2 were felonies due to prior records
- No trafficking victims were found or rescued
• 2025 sting — 16 arrests, 0 trafficking victims rescued
This was the sting where a civilian ICE employee was arrested for soliciting a 17‑year‑old decoy.Again,
no actual minors were present, and
no children were rescued.
2. No Minnesota operation in the search results involved CBP at all
CBP (Customs & Border Protection) does not appear in any Minnesota‑based enforcement actions in the reporting we found.
3. Why the confusion?
Politicians and some media outlets often label these stings as “sex trafficking” operations, but the details show they are
vice stings, not trafficking rescues.
The 2026 article explicitly notes:
- “Minnesota politicians may be calling this a ‘sex trafficking sting,’ but… it’s just a vice operation.”
- “No one was arrested on sex trafficking charges.”
Bottom line
ICE and CBP did not rescue any children from sex traffickers in Minnesota in the operations reported.
The stings involved undercover officers posing as minors or sex workers, and
no actual trafficked children were identified or recovered.