Minneapolis businesses say a surge in federal immigration enforcement has disrupted staffing, consumer traffic and hotel reservations, as protests roil parts of the Twin Cities.
The effects are showing up amid plans for a general strike Friday to demand an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, according to organizers. The economic fallout comes as Minnesota and the Twin Cities seek court relief to halt the operations.
At Taste of East African in Minneapolis, the manager and owner said they are the only employees who come to work now, serving new customers who are not familiar with the food as the restaurant struggles with the federal enforcement surge. The manager and owner also said usual patrons are afraid to come, and that gig workers are not accepting delivery orders because they are afraid.
Hibaq Nimale, the restaurant’s manager, said, “Even if you tell ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) you’re a citizen they won’t listen, so everyone is scared,” describing concerns that people feel they cannot safely engage with enforcement. Nimale is a U.S. citizen raised in Kenya as a refugee from Somalia.
Businesses across large swaths of Minneapolis have taken a hit as President Donald Trump’s administration carried out a massive immigration operation that has spurred protests, according to the businesses and other sources cited in the report. Protesters have targeted businesses they see as aiding federal immigration enforcement, and stores have temporarily closed, canceled events or reduced hours as staff and customers stay home. Some hotels that previously housed federal immigration officers and faced protests have stopped accepting reservations altogether, while Minneapolis-based Target Corp. has also seen protests.
The state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities have filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to halt the immigration operations, and the complaint asserts that some businesses have reported sales drops up to 80%. An October report from the Minneapolis Federal Reserve cited sluggish economic indicators even before more than 2,000 federal immigration officers began arriving in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and a January report emphasized that some Minnesota businesses experienced dampened sales and slower foot traffic out of fear of immigration enforcement. Nearly 20% of all businesses surveyed reported lower employment head counts citing similar concerns, according to the report.
Adam Duininck, the CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District, said, “I’m seeing it impact everybody, just because of the lower levels of people traveling and spending discretionary income.” Fred Haberman, the co-founder and CEO of a small marketing firm in Minneapolis, said disruptions to “support systems,” such as schools and day care programs, have affected employees’ ability to maintain regular work schedules. Haberman said, “Many of these businesses don’t have huge margins to play around with.”
In a statement, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin pointed to the protests and said the “sanctuary policies won’t allow us to work with state and local law enforcement” when asked about economic concerns.
Uncertainty has been sharp for hotels facing the combined pressure of protests and enforcement dynamics. At least one hotel location canceled reservations for federal immigration officers after frequent protests, but reversed course after the DHS accused the location of impeding law enforcement. The report said at least three Twin Cities hotels that protesters said housed immigration officers were not accepting reservations Wednesday.
The Hilton DoubleTree and IHG InterContinental in downtown St. Paul and the Hilton Canopy in Minneapolis were not accepting reservations online before early February, the report said. Over the phone, an InterContinental hotel front desk employee said the hotel was closing for the safety of staff but would not elaborate. Signs in front of the DoubleTree and InterContinental said they were “temporarily closed for business until further notice.” The Canopy was open but not accepting reservations, the report said, describing it as a site of noisy protests by anti-ICE demonstrators aimed at preventing federal officers from sleeping. Hilton and IHG did not respond to emails seeking comment.
Duininck said hotels are balancing economically prudent decisions with safety, noting that many that remain open have reported fewer reservations and more cancellations than usual. He said what feels safe for a businessperson is different from people coming to a job, and he said many hotel employees are non-white and fear profiling from federal agents while hotel owners try to avoid intense economic retaliation from the federal government or protesters. Duininck also said, “What feels safe for me as a businessperson is different from people that are coming down here to go to the job,” and that the situation embodies “exactly what the political moment is for our city and for our country.”
Faith leaders, labor unions and activists are urging Twin Cities residents not to work, shop or go to school on Friday “to demand immediate cessation of ICE actions,” according to the event’s website. Boycotts and economic protests have been a familiar tactic in the area; civil rights leaders in Minnesota called for a full boycott of Target Corp. last year after the retailer announced it would phase out some diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives following Trump’s push to dismantle DEI policies in federal government and schools.
Legal experts cited in the report said public areas of a business are accessible and that immigration officials can question people, seize information and make arrests in those spaces. John Medeiros, who leads the corporate immigration practice at Minneapolis-based law firm Nilan Johnson Lewis, said workers and patrons can decline to talk to immigration enforcement officers, refuse to consent to searches and ask for an attorney. The report also said ICE needs permission from the employer or a judicial warrant to enter private spaces of a business, and that warrants must be signed by a judge and list a specific authorizing court, with limits that can cover specific days or types of information.
Nimale said Taste of East African’s economic challenges have been at least temporarily offset by support from non-immigrant neighbors. Before the crackdown, she estimated that close to 80% of customers were Somali; now, she said, it is roughly 10%, with new customers filling in the gap despite slower than usual service due to a lack of employees. Nimale said she is grateful for neighbors’ kindness but worries it is not sustainable, adding, “We don’t know how long we can get support,” as the enforcement operation and protests continue to affect day-to-day operations.
Associated Press reporter Wyatte Granthan-Philips contributed reporting.