MILAN (AP) — Two distinct memories come to Lee Stecklein while recalling U.S. hockey teammate Caroline Harvey’s Olympic debut at the 2022 Beijing Games.
The first is of a then-19-year-old Harvey spending a large majority of America’s final three games anchored to the bench.
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United States' Caroline Harvey, right, celebrates with United States' Abbey Murphy after scoring her sides fifth goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between the United States and Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
United States' Caroline Harvey celebrates with teammates after scoring her side's first goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between USA and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
United States' Caroline Harvey celebrates with teammates after scoring her side's first goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between USA and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
United States' Caroline Harvey celebrates after scoring her side's first goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between USA and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
The other is the confidence and deft ability Harvey showed during her lone two shifts, spanning 62 seconds, in the second period of a 3-2 loss to Canada in the gold medal game.
“I remember watching her and she was like a spark,” Stecklein said Thursday. “After having not played much, and now you’re in your first Olympic gold medal game, to just go out there and be able to turn it on like she did, that’s really special. You don’t see that often.”
Four years later at the Milan Cortina Games, Harvey is unmistakably putting on a show while making up for the time she lost at Beijing.
Rather than riding the bench as she did under former coach Joel Johannson, Harvey is the driving force behind a creative, up-tempo, quick-strike offense as the U.S. enters the quarterfinal knockout round facing Italy on Friday. The Americans swept their four-game preliminary round schedule with a tournament-best 20 goals, with Harvey tied for the Olympic lead in points with two goals and five assists.
Maturity and development have factored in Harvey’s emergence, just as much as coach John Wroblewski, who has provided her the green light to create.
“The amount of times that she drove (the net) was insane. I loved the initiatives that she takes,” Wroblewski said after Harvey had a goal and two assists in a 5-0 win over Switzerland on Monday.
A night later, Harvey had another one-goal, two-assist outing, this time in a 5-0 win over Canada.
“His words mean a lot to me. He’s been such an integral part of my development and building my confidence up in the last couple of years,” Harvey said of her coach. “A lot of credit to him.”
Soft-spoken and humble, Harvey refuses to say anything negative about her experience at Beijing, in which she was held without a point. As for her production in Milan, she deflects the credit to others.
“I’m just happy for whatever role I’m given,” she said. “It’s just the players who are out there. The teammates I have, they’re unbelievable and they’re making things happen.”
And yet, that doesn’t explain Harvey’s ability to produce in the clutch, or the numerous accolades she has drawn in the midst of her senior college season as Wisconsin's captain.
As a freshman, she earned WCHA rookie of the year honors and scored the deciding goal in Wisconsin’s 3-2 win overtime win against Minnesota in the Frozen Four semifinal. From New Hampshire, she's a two-time national champion, two-time conference defender of the year, and currently ranks second among NCAA women with 54 points (17 goals, 37 assists).
“She’s sort of got the ‘It factor,’” Badgers coach Mark Johnson once said of Harvey.
Wroblewski has compared her to NHL playmaking defenseman Quinn Hughes.
One Professional Women’s Hockey League general manager in November privately predicted Harvey would be the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft in a class that includes several other blossoming stars, including U.S. teammates Abbey Murphy and Laila Edwards.
“She’s a special player,” Murphy said. “She’s always had it. When she gets buzzing, watch out.”
After being limited to an assist in her first two games, Harvey found her legs against Switzerland. She set up the opening goal by working down the left wall and threading a pass through the middle to set up Haley Winn. Harvey scored by driving from the left point, eluding several defenders and jamming the puck inside the left post.
Against Canada, Harvey scored the opening goal by driving from the left point, pausing long enough to throw off goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens’ timing, before rifling in the puck.
“It feels like a fourth forward out there and really drives the offense,” teammate Hannah Bilka said.
This is what Wroblewski envisioned of Harvey upon taking over the team in the leadup to the 2022 world championships.
Harvey was benched in Beijing after her penalty led to Canada scoring the opening goal of a 4-2 win in the preliminary round.
Wroblewski then recalled her struggling in an exhibition game against Canada the following summer.
“I said to her that she’s accomplished basically everything she could accomplish as a young girl,” he said. “You’re only 19 turning 20, but you’re an Olympian. Just go with it.”
At 31, Stecklein remembers the two being paired during one of Harvey’s first national team camps.
“I was like, who is this kid? She just plays hockey. And it’s just such fun,” Stecklein said. “And she’s done it the whole time. She’s done it under pressure. And I feel like that’s what you’re seeing now. She’s just continuing to get better and better.”
AP Olympic coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
United States' Caroline Harvey, right, celebrates with United States' Abbey Murphy after scoring her sides fifth goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between the United States and Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
United States' Caroline Harvey celebrates with teammates after scoring her side's first goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between USA and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
United States' Caroline Harvey celebrates with teammates after scoring her side's first goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between USA and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
United States' Caroline Harvey celebrates after scoring her side's first goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between USA and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Trump administration is ending a massive immigration crackdown that swept across the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and other Minnesota communities, border czar Tom Homan said Thursday, concluding an operation that led to thousands of arrests, angry mass protests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens.
The crackdown, which the Department of Homeland Security called its “ largest immigration enforcement operation ever,” became the most prominent flashpoint in the debate over President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
The surge of thousands of federal officers changed life across the Twin Cities. Convoys of unmarked SUVs became commonplace in some immigrant neighborhoods, where residents could stumble onto masked men in body armor making arrests and throngs of protesters who filled the air with taunts, insults and shrieking whistles.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, which flared up into street clashes after federal officers killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, became a major political distraction for the Trump administration. The announcement of a drawdown marked a significant retreat as a new AP-NORC poll found that most U.S. adults say Trump’s immigration policies have gone too far.
Operation Metro Surge, which started in December, resulted in more than 4,000 arrests, Homan told reporters Thursday morning, declaring it a success.
“The surge is leaving Minnesota safer,” he said. “I’ll say it again: It’s less of a sanctuary state for criminals.”
But while the administration portrayed its Minnesota targets as dangerous criminals, many had no criminal records and they included working families, children like 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and U.S. citizens.
In a city with a long history of progressive politics, there was skepticism, along with relief, at Homan's announcement.
“We will believe it when we see it — and any ICE presence is a threat to everyone's safety,” Minneapolis City Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said in a statement. “We will be left in the aftermath of destruction, and we will have to pick up the pieces of our communities.”
The surge sent waves of fear through immigrant communities, with children staying home from school or learning remotely, immigrant businesses temporarily shutting down and church pews left empty. Residents delivered thousands of meals to families too afraid to leave home.
A sprawling activist network pushed back against the surge, with thousands of volunteers tracking the convoys of heavily armed federal agents. Clashes were commonplace for a time, with protesters throwing snowballs and spraying graffiti and officers sometimes using tear gas and pepper spray.
Trump initially said the surge was an effort to root out fraud in publicly funded programs, which he blamed on the state's large Somali community, most of whom are U.S. citizens. But it soon shifted gears toward other ethnic groups, such as Latinos and West Africans.
State and local officials, who frequently clashed with federal authorities, say the swarm of immigration officials has inflicted long-term damage on Minnesota's economy and immigrant community.
Russ Adams of the Lake Street Council, a nonprofit serving the largely immigrant neighborhood of the same name, estimated that businesses there lost tens of millions of dollars in December and January.
“We’re not going to recover in March, even if 2,000 ICE agents leave tomorrow,” he said last week. “You don’t come back from that.”
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz urged residents to remain vigilant in the coming days as immigration officers prepare to leave and said he will not express gratitude for the Trump administration officials who caused “this unnecessary, unwarranted and in many cases unconstitutional assault on our state.”
“It’s going to be a long road,” Walz said at a news conference. “Minnesotans are decent, caring, loving neighbors and they’re also some of the toughest people you’ll find. And we’re in this as long as it takes.”
The governor proposed a $10 million aid package for businesses that have suffered, and he called on Washington to help fund the recovery.
“You don’t get to break things and then just leave without doing something about it,” he said.
Homan was vague about a timeline for the drawdown, but Walz said Homan assured him that officers would start leaving immediately.
“We will help you get to the airport,” the governor said. “We will clear the road to get to the airport. I will pack your damn bags if that’s what it takes.”
Homan's announcement came as Democratic lawmakers are demanding restraints on immigration officers before agreeing to fund DHS. The Trump administration is trying to secure votes in Congress to prevent federal funding from expiring at the end of the week.
Walz, a former congressman, said the announcement does not make him any readier to support restoring DHS funding. He added that he has been in contact with Democratic leaders in both houses of Congress and urged them to “hold the line until you get the at least minimum reforms necessary in this rogue agency.”
In Washington, Republican Sen. Rand Paul said the shootings in Minneapolis changed how some Americans saw the immigration crackdown.
“It’s clearly evident that the public trust has been lost,” the Kentucky senator said at a Thursday hearing. “To restore trust in ICE and Border Patrol, they must admit their mistakes, be honest and forthright with their rules of engagement and pledge to reform.”
“President Trump made a promise of mass deportation, and that’s what this country is going to get,” Homan said.
Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, said during the hearing that the agency is still looking for about 16,840 people in Minnesota with final orders of removal.
Homan took over the operation in late January after the second fatal shooting, of Pretti, and amid growing political backlash about how the operation was being run by Gregory Bovino, a proudly norm-breaking senior Border Patrol official who became the public face of the crackdown.
Later Thursday, Sheila Rzepecki was among people visiting a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, an array of candles, posters, flowers and cards left at the scene of her shooting.
Her son is disabled, she said, and his health aide, who is from Colombia, has been too scared to leave her home even though she is in the U.S. legally.
“This is the fear they put into such wonderful people in our community,” Rzepecki said.
She dismissed the claim that the surge left the region safer, saying: “The people they are rounding up are the people that are so important to our community. Don't believe what they say.”
Many activists said the fight is not over. Lisa Erbes, a leader of the protest group Indivisible Twin Cities, said officials must be held accountable.
“People have died. Families have been torn apart,” Erbes said. “We can’t just say this is over and forget the pain and suffering that has been put on the people of Minnesota.”
In New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani met in the afternoon with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to discuss ways to protect immigrants.
“They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation,” Frey said on social media. “These patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it’s not just about resistance — standing with our neighbors is deeply American.”
Associated Press reporters Mark Vancleave in Minneapolis; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Elliot Spagat in San Diego; Rebecca Santana and Nathan Ellgren in Washington; and Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed.
White House border czar Tom Homan holds a news conference at the Bishop Whipple Federal building on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis. (Leila Navidi /Star Tribune via AP)
White House border czar Tom Homan holds a news conference at the Bishop Whipple Federal building on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis. (Leila Navidi /Star Tribune via AP)
Gov. Tim Walz holds a news conference at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
CORRECTS CREDIT TO STEVE KARNOWSKI - White House border czar Tom Homan holds a news conference at the Bishop Whipple Federal building on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
