As immigration enforcement intensifies, Minnesota businesses feel the strain

Advocates of stricter border enforcement argue that tougher policies ultimately lead to better job prospects for legal workers. But in Minnesota, where immigration enforcement has been especially aggressive — and abusive in some instances, fatal in others, as videos filmed by observers show — the effects have rippled through local economies.

Some immigrant-owned businesses across the state have temporarily closed or cut back hours as employees and customers worry about being stopped or profiled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Marketplace Morning Report” host David Brancaccio spoke with Kirsti Marohn, a correspondent with Minnesota Public Radio, about what she’s been seeing on the ground in St. Cloud — a city about an hour north of Minneapolis with a large Somali American population.

David Brancaccio: You've been going into businesses facing immigration searches and detentions. What are you hearing?

Kirsti Marohn: The owners I spoke to say they're struggling with two problems. First, businesses that cater to immigrants are seeing fewer customers. People are scared to leave their homes and venture out for fear of being stopped and detained by ICE. I stopped in at New York Gyro, a popular restaurant in St Cloud. Usually at lunchtime, it's full of hungry customers craving its halal pita sandwiches and kebabs. But last week…

Haseeb Azam: As you can see, very slow, very, very slow, especially for the last couple weeks.

Marohn: That's co-owner, Haseeb Azam. He told me that the recent ice activity in St Cloud is scaring people away.

Azam: We have a lot of like mixed customers — like Mexican, Somali, and white. Right now, most of them are the white customers. They come, but not Somali or Mexicans, nothing.

Marohn: And the other issue for businesses is that some employees are afraid to come to work, even if they are in the U.S. legally. Azam says he and his co-owners are working 12- to 13-hour days just to keep the restaurant going.

Brancaccio: 13-hour days? Is that sustainable? I mean, not every business could pull those hours off longer term.

Marohn: That's right. In fact, some have already temporarily closed their doors or reduced hours due to staffing shortages or out of concern for their employees. Restaurants are doing more takeout and delivery orders as fewer customers want to linger for long periods in public places.

I visited Star City Mall in St Cloud; it's a strip mall with several Somali-owned businesses. There's a clinic, a pharmacy, grocery store, several cafes. Dozens of ICE agents clashed with protesters in the mall's parking lot last week, and a few days later, it was noticeably quieter than usual. I met Abdi Daisane there. He's a Somali-American business owner and also a Democratic candidate for the Minnesota Legislature.

Abdi Daisane: I was talking to some of the business people here, and they already see the impact. They see less people showing up to just hang out there, maybe more pick-up than sitting down and enjoying their meal, or even just socializing with people.

Marohn: And we're also seeing some businesses adapting the way they operate. So, at one restaurant in Minneapolis, the blinds are now drawn, the front door is locked, and a volunteer sits inside to open it for customers.