Twin Cities small business owners call for state relief amid ICE surge: “Stop talking and start doing”

Gov. Tim Walz is acknowledging that small businesses across the Twin Cities metro are facing an economic crisis under Operation Metro Surge. Some business owners believe he and other local leaders are not doing enough to help. 

Soleil Ramirez, head chef and owner of the Venezuelan restaurant Crasqui in St. Paul, Minnesota, said that she needs to see immediate action from Walz, believing many restaurants and businesses are close to shutting down entirely without direct economic assistance. 

“The words are important, but where are the actions?” Ramirez said. “Stop talking about the things in the federal government that you cannot control. Start to control your state.” 

At a press conference on Tuesday morning, Walz said that he is open to all possible solutions, teasing potential action once the state legislature reconvenes for session on Feb. 17.

“I think we have a responsibility to the business community across the state to look at every single one of those proposals,” Walz said.   

Ramirez noted that she has been leading the charge in her community in St. Paul, convening a round table of local leaders to try to find a path forward. She said that she is asking for extensions or delays on payments that city governments and the state can control, including items such as licensing fees or sales tax. 

According to the Latino Economic Development Center, around 30 businesses are temporarily closed in the Twin Cities as a result of ICE activity. Approximately 52 are operating with limitations, which could include shorter hours or surviving on a skeleton crew of staff. 

The Crasqui restaurant — sitting just off the Mississippi River in St. Paul’s West Side neighborhood — is one of them. Ramirez said that she and her entire staff are in the country legally. She first came here more than a decade ago from Venezuela, immediately applying for asylum after she suffered persecution in her home country. She won her asylum case last year, but she’s still scared of being picked up by ICE. 

Throughout Operation Metro Surge, there have been multiple documented cases of ICE detaining American citizens and those with paperwork justifying their presence in Minnesota. Those events have left even people with legal status afraid to leave their homes, draining the customer base for businesses across the metro. 

Candy Gama is experiencing the same problem at her bakery, Pastaleria Gama, on Minneapolis’ Lake Street. According to Minneapolis city officials, local businesses are losing around $10 million to $20 million per week collectively. The Lake Street Council estimates that there have been $46 million in losses along the Somali- and Latino-dominated corridor since December. 

“We are barely surviving,” Gama said. 

When it comes to solutions, Gama shares the hope that local governments can begin delaying or cancelling certain payments. She pointed to the nearly $500 she just sent the State of Minnesota for her annual food license renewal. 

“I could use it to pay a bill. Because we have to. To [help] pay the rent,” Gama said. “We don’t have any other kind of help so far.”