How many times in Minnesota did anti-ICE activists call for statewide strikes: don't go to school, don't go to work, and whatever you do, don't buy anything. Instead, meet downtown for a protest march.
You'd think that a surge of ICE agents would be good for business, especially hotels and restaurants … at least those restaurants that didn't ban ICE agents.
CNN reports that Operation Metro Surge not only traumatized people but left many of them hard up for cash.
The surge of federal immigration agents in Minnesota over the past few months left many people not only traumatized but financially hard up.
— CNN (@CNN) February 24, 2026
In Minneapolis alone, the city government now estimates 76,000 residents – or about 20% of the city's population – have urgent needs in… pic.twitter.com/ujW4fO08SD
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… terms of lost wages, food insecurity and an inability to make rent, among other things.
We've already heard from Somali business owners who demand reparations from ICE for lost business and "trauma."
Jeanne Sahadi writes for CNN about what others can learn from how Minnesota helped its most vulnerable residents during the ICE surge:
The surge of federal immigration agents in Minnesota over the past few months left many people not only traumatized but financially hard up.
People lost income because they were too afraid to go to work or their breadwinner was taken by agents of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Patrol. Small business owners, in turn, lost revenue because their workers and customers didn’t show up.
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Communist agitators and fellow traveling dupes shut down Minneapolis in a prolonged hissy fit over ICE agents doing their jobs by enforcing immigration law
— Enguerrand VII de Coucy (@ingelramdecoucy) February 24, 2026
CNN: “Why would ICE shut down Minneapolis?” https://t.co/iClhJabwD0
Maybe the mayor and the governor shouldn't have gone out of their way to make this such a messy affair just to appeal to the radical base.
— Jack Bauer after dark 🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@JackBauerAD) February 24, 2026
They made a choice to not got to work and to protest, that’s on them.
— ❤️of Texas (@TG4AA) February 24, 2026
Maybe the root cause was the surge in illegal immigration?
— Te𝕏as Landman (@RWReagan1) February 24, 2026
ICE did NOT cause Minnesota’s problems. Local government did.
— Conservative (@DineenRisk) February 24, 2026
Groups affected:
— Kieran Eleison (@KieranEleison) February 24, 2026
1. Illegals
2. Bizs that illegally employed illegals
Saved you a click
If they are citizens, they should have been working. If they are illegals, they should have gone home.
— No Name Given (@jenipenihere) February 24, 2026
Why would strict immigration enforcement impede on the earning capacity of legal residents?
— Basilard Consulting (@DanOvercast) February 24, 2026
When the governor and mayor both encouraged the civil unrest that caused this issue....
— The Watchdog (@TheWatchdogDBQ) February 24, 2026
....it's rather rich for them to ask others to bail them out
The disruptions come from the constant protests against federal law-enforcement, not because of the actual law-enforcement. Red States don’t have this problem.
— Nem Nova (@Nem_Nova) February 24, 2026
Tell them to open a daycare, I hear it very lucrative.
— Trash Talk (@TRSHTALKR) February 24, 2026
— 🇺🇸American Patriot🇺🇸 (@Andrews60David) February 24, 2026
In other words, 20% of Minneapolis's population is in the country illegally.
— ETXChris (@Chris66549) February 24, 2026
This isn't saying what you thought it was going to say, CNN.
— DaveCoffee ☕ (@DaveCothran) February 24, 2026
They can get those needs met in their country of origin.
— LOVtheCOV (@LOVtheCOV) February 24, 2026
They can get a $2600 payment and a free flight home. If they agree to go now.
They’re staying here and taking risks because they believe democrats will let them stay and keep giving them benefits here.
Imagine if the governor hadn't insinuated that the federal government had declared war on the state and those there legally went about their business.
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