Minnesota Bar Associations Honored with ABA-NLADA Access to Justice Award
On July 31, 2026, the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA), Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA), and Ramsey County Bar Association (RCBA) were honored with the 2026 Harrison Tweed Award at the American Bar Association’s (ABA) annual conference. The award was in recognition of their work to address the community impact of Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota in late 2025.
The ABA’s Harrison Tweed Award recognizes the extraordinary achievements of state and local bar associations that develop or significantly expand projects or programs to increase access to civil legal services to people in poverty or criminal defense services to indigents. The award is presented annually by the ABA’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense (SCLAID) and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA). NLADA is America’s oldest and largest nonprofit association devoted to excellence in the delivery of legal services to those who cannot afford counsel.
In December 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) initiated Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota’s Twin Cities Metro Area. Enforcement efforts increased dramatically in the early months of 2026, expanding outside of the Metro Area to communities statewide. In January 2026, the MSBA, HCBA and RCBA, along with legal aid providers, law firms, government agencies, law schools and bar association members, sprang into action to help coordinate a pro bono response to the access to justice crisis caused by the operation. One of the most crucial roles of the bar associations was to determine priority areas of pro bono need and direct members to those opportunities. They also provided skills training for members interested in doing responsive pro bono work to increase access to justice and they joined in litigation challenging the lawfulness of the administration’s actions.
Read more about the work done by MSBA-HCBA-RCBA to respond to Operation Metro Surge.