Rows of businesses stood shuttered inside Karmel Mall, a sprawling complex of Somali enterprises in south Minneapolis, as fear of federal immigration agents has brought economic activity to a standstill. The mall, which houses over a hundred small businesses offering everything from clothing to accounting services, has seen a dramatic drop in customers since the Trump administration's 'Operation Metro Surge' began. Many sellers sit alone in their stores, waiting for occasional customers, while some have stopped opening altogether due to lack of foot traffic.
Abdi Wahid, who works at his mother's convenience store in the mall, said business has been slow for three weeks. 'Everywhere it's all been closed up, all the stores,' he noted. Early afternoons once meant 15 to 20 customers, but now it's tough to get one. The fear extends beyond immigrants; citizens are also scared to come in, particularly after the killing of Renee Good and an ICE raid at Roosevelt High School in south Minneapolis. Wahid, a U.S. citizen, said people could be targeted 'just because of their race.'
Upstairs, Bashir Garad runs Safari Travel & Accounting Services. He has lost almost all his customers, and existing clients are cancelling trips because they worry they won't be let back into the country. The majority of his clients are East African and nearly all are U.S. citizens, yet they still hesitate to travel. 'The government is not doing the right thing,' Garad said. 'If there's a criminal, there's a criminal. Regardless, there are ways to find the criminal, but to marginalize the community's name, and a whole people, that is unlawful.'
Ibrahim Dahiye, who sells electronics, said winter was always slow, 'but now it's totally different. No one comes here. All the stores are closed, few are open.' Since the crackdown began, his business is down $20,000 monthly, and he is pooling funds to make rent. His employees are too scared to come to work, and he keeps his passport on him at all times. 'I don't know what we can do,' Dahiye said. 'We believe in Allah, but we can't do anything.'
Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that law enforcement uses 'reasonable suspicion' to make arrests under the fourth amendment, adding that 'a person's immigration status makes them a target for enforcement, not their skin color, race or ethnicity.' However, the economic impact of the crackdown stretches beyond the Somali community, with many immigrants on edge and afraid to go to work or leave their homes.
