A roundtable of small business owners sat down to tell government leaders about their continued struggle to recover from the economic slowdown brought on by the presence of armed, masked ICE agents last winter.
The panel gathered at the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, near the epicenter of the ICE presence. Business owners who shared a stage with Gov. Tim Walz and Matt Varilek, commissioner of the Minnesota Dept of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), explained how they are still recovering from the traumatic events they and their employees experience.
“Three of my employees were assaulted right in front of our building on Franklin Street. They were racially profiled. That threw us into panic mode,” said Chef Sean Sherman, owner of Indígena by Owamni. “We needed to protect people. We needed to make sure people had access to food, water, supplies and to protect their livelihoods.”
Walz saluted business leaders for the way they responded to the challenge of the occupation.
“I would argue this is one of the darkest chapters in American history, when the full force of the government comes down on people just trying to live their lives,” Walz said.
“It was a wild, terrifying time,” recalled panelist Breanna Evans, owner of Wrecktangle Pizza, which has a location in the hard-hit Lyn-Lake neighborhood of Minneapolis.
Evans remembered how some of her employees were so afraid that they didn’t leave their homes for three months. She launched a donation campaign to provide direct financial aid to impacted families.
“We did a buy one, get one pizza and people started ordering online and saying, don’t make it, I’m donating it,” she said. “We raised over $225,000.”
WCCO Radio host Sheletta Brundidge, owner of ShelettaMakesMeLaugh.com, a marketing and media company, also participated in the panel. While the forum was set up to discuss the lasting impact of Operation Metro Surge, Brundidge reminded those present that the legacy of the era can also be marked by how neighbors rose to the occasion to support each other and immigrant businesses.
“I saw so much love in our community and so did everyone else,” Brundidge said. “You can go around the world, and people are talking about the resilience and the strength of Minnesotans. We have so much street cred out here right now.”
Brundidge underscored her comments by remembering that on January 9, after Renee Nicole Good was killed, Gov. Walz declared a Day of Unity.
“After a woman was killed for no good reason and insulted as she was shot at, I was afraid we were not going to respond by burning down the city we had just built back up. But when you declared that day of unity, we responded by being kind,” Brundidge said, addressing Gov. Walz. “People started walking immigrant children to school to keep them safe, others were buying groceries for their neighbors and eating at immigrant restaurants. A spirit of peace came over our state and replaced the pressure we experienced when thousands of federal agents invaded our city. Sir, you changed the trajectory of Operation Metro Surge and I just wanted to say thank you for that.”
“We have been through so much. We have learned to solve problems and help each other and engage in mutual aid,” DEED Commissioner Varilek agreed.
While the heavy presence of ICE officers has eased, Gov. Walz warned Minnesotans against complacency.
“There are a whole lot of people who want to act like this is over and move on. It is far from over. We need recovery for individuals. Our children are going to be with this their entire lives,” the governor said. “I will caution all of us. They will be back if they think they can come back. There is still danger out there for folks.”
