Minneapolis businesses struggle during Trump's immigration enforcement surge

At Taste of East African in Minneapolis, the manager and owner are the only employees who come to work now, serving new customers who aren’t familiar with the food but are trying to support a restaurant challenged by a federal immigration enforcement surge.

Like the employees, the usual patrons are afraid to come to a restaurant in an area heavily populated by immigrants that has been a frequent target of immigrant enforcement actions. Gig workers aren't accepting orders for delivery because they, too, are afraid.

“Even if you tell ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) you’re a citizen they won’t listen, so everyone is scared,” said the restaurant's manager, Hibaq Nimale, who 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 carries out a massive immigration sweep that has spurred protests. As staff and customers stay home and protesters target businesses they see as aiding federal immigration enforcement, countless stores have temporarily closed, canceled events or reduced hours. Some hotels that housed federal immigration officers and saw protests have stopped accepting reservations altogether, while Minneapolis-based Target Corp. also has seen protests.

Adding to an already struggling economy

The state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities cited devastating economic impacts in a lawsuit filed this month imploring a federal judge to halt the immigration operations. The lawsuit asserted that some businesses have reported sales drops up to 80%.

An October report from the Minneapolis Federal Reserve noted sluggish economic indicators even before over 2,000 federal immigration officers began arriving in Minneapolis and St. Paul. But 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.

“I’m seeing it impact everybody, just because of the lower levels of people traveling and spending discretionary income,” Adam Duininck, the CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District.

Even white collar businesses have been impacted, according to Fred Haberman, the co-founder and CEO of a small marketing firm in Minneapolis. His operations have been impacted because of significant disruptions to “support systems," like schools and day care programs, that employees rely on to maintain regular work schedules, he said.

He worries that the city's economic landscape could be permanently altered if the federal government doesn't reverse course soon.

“Many of these businesses don’t have huge margins to play around with,” Haberman said.

In a statement, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin pointed to the protests and what she called “the fact sanctuary policies won't allow us to work with state and local law enforcement” when asked about the economic concerns.

Uncertainty for hotels

Massive hotel chains like Hilton have struggled to navigate the conflict. At least one location canceled reservations for federal immigration officers after frequent protests — only to reverse course after the Department of Homeland Security accused it of impeding law enforcement.

At least three hotels in the Twin Cities that protesters said housed immigration officers were not accepting reservations Wednesday. Rooms could not be booked online before early February at the Hilton DoubleTree and IHG InterContinental in downtown St. Paul and at the Hilton Canopy in Minneapolis.

Over the phone, an InterContinental hotel front desk employee said it was closing for the safety of the 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, which has been the site of noisy protests by anti-ICE demonstrators aimed at preventing federal officers from sleeping, was open but not accepting reservations.

Hilton and IHG did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Duininck said hotels are balancing economically prudent decisions with safety. He noted that many that remain open have reported fewer reservations and more cancellations than usual.

“What feels safe for me as a business person is different from people that are coming down here to go to the job,” Duininck said, noting that many employees in the hotel industry are non-white and fear profiling from federal agents. On the other hand, many hotel owners are trying to avoid intense economic retaliation from the federal government or protesters.

That impossible choice embodies “exactly what the political moment is for our city and for our country,” he said.

Economic leverage as protest strategy

Faith leaders, labor unions and activists are calling for residents of the Twin Cities to not 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 are a familiar tactic in the area.

Civil rights leaders in Minnesota were among some of the first nationally to call for a full boycott of Target Corp. early last year after the retailer announced it would phase out a handful of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives following Trump's push to dismantle DEI policies in the federal government and schools.

Last week, roughly 100 clergy protested at the entrance to Target’s downtown Minneapolis headquarters to demand the retailer take a stronger stand against federal law enforcement activity.

Videos have also shown demonstrators at Target locations in St. Paul, carrying signs calling for the abolition of ICE and accusing the massive retailer of allowing federal law enforcement to stage operations on its properties.

Legal protections in businesses

Anyone — including immigration enforcement officers — can legally enter the public areas of a business. Those can include dining areas, parking lots, office lobbies and store aisles. In those places, immigration officials can question people, seize information and even make arrests, according to John Medeiros, who leads the corporate immigration practice at Minneapolis-based law firm Nilan Johnson Lewis.

But workers and patrons have some legal protections. They can decline to talk to immigration enforcement officers, refuse to consent to searches or ask for an attorney.

ICE needs permission from the employer or a judicial warrant to enter private spaces of a business, such as a back office or an emergency room. A judicial warrant must be signed by a judge and list a specific authorizing court. Those warrants can be limited to specific days or types of information about the business. Experts stress that it’s important to educate workers about their legal rights, what areas of the business are private and how to differentiate between warrants.

Immigration attorneys have raised alarm about ICE entering private spaces without proper warrants and detaining people unlawfully.

Medeiros encourages people to record encounters with federal agents.

Help from neighbors offers temporary reprieve

Nimale said Tastes of East African's economic challenges have been at least temporarily offset by an outpouring of support from her non-immigrant neighbors. Before the crackdown, she estimates that close to 80% of her customers were Somali. Now, it's roughly 10%, with new customers who are otherwise unfamiliar with that regional cuisine filling in the gap despite the slower the usual service due to a lack of employees.

Nimale said she is grateful for her neighbors' kindness but worries it's far from a sustainable solution.

“We don't know how long we can get support,” she said.

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Associated Press reporter Wyatte Granthan-Philips contributed reporting.