By Joe Barrett | Photography by Bridget Bennett for WSJ
MINNEAPOLIS -- Joe Martino, a 52-year-old merchant mariner, braved swirling snow and biting winds on a recent afternoon as he walked up and down Lake Street in search of tacos.
On a two-block stretch that normally boasts at least three Mexican eateries, the only tacos to be had were at Taco Bell. Martino hiked two more blocks before grabbing a water and leaving a $20 tip at a Mexican restaurant and bar that was open but not serving food. Across the street, he finally found a spot with an open kitchen.
"What the hell is going on?" he muttered to a passing reporter as he tried one of the locked doors, though he later acknowledged he had a pretty good idea. "They're scared to come out. They're scared that if they go to work -- whatever their immigration status -- they will be detained."
An unprecedented immigration-enforcement operation has surged thousands of federal agents into Minneapolis and greater Minnesota. Some small businesses that immigrants own, work at or frequent have all but shut down while the operation is under way. Some liken the standstill to the Covid era.
Along a section of East Lake Street near Interstate 35W that is home to many small businesses -- mostly Hispanic -- at least nine appeared ready for customers yet had locked doors, minimal lighting and no employees. One of the blocks also had an indoor mall called Plaza Mexico, where about a quarter of the businesses appeared to be open.
"We are the last survivor in this area, everything is closed," said Luis Reyes Rojas, owner of Pineda Tacos Plus, a brightly colored eatery with a salsa bar featuring six selections of various colors and levels of heat, plus pickled vegetables. An employee stood watch at the front door, unlocking it to let patrons in and out.
Reyes Rojas estimates that, including the mall, around 40 businesses in the area have closed down, at least temporarily.
"It's really, really hard," he said, as a worker called customer order numbers over the loudspeaker in Spanish and English.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, blamed the disruption on what she called state leaders' "out-of-control rhetoric" and failure to cooperate with the agency's mission.
Minnesota officials are suing, alleging agents have acted illegally while carrying out the surge.
"We are not asking ICE not to do ICE things," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said last week. "We are asking this federal government to stop the unconstitutional conduct that is invading our streets each and every day." In response to the lawsuit, DHS said the administration was acting lawfully.
In a ruling in a separate case Friday, a federal judge banned agents from "retaliating against" peaceful observers and protesters, citing videos, sworn statements and other evidence. The Justice Department is appealing the ruling, according to a Monday filing.
Across the street at Puerto Veracruzano 2, a bar and restaurant with surfboard shelves behind the bar, owner Araceli Orozco said she is staying open to support her "family" of workers and customers, who know they can get a free meal if they need one. But business has slowed so much that she and her husband have taken second jobs.
"It's like the pandemic, but even worse," she said.
At Javi's Gift Shop next door, owner Javier Dias, 62, said he is open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., offering jewelry and watch repair, but for three days last week no customers came.
"Yesterday, I didn't make a single dollar," he said, his voice choking with emotion. Business is so bad that he brought in a cooker to make his own food in the back of the shop. "I've lived a long time in this country, but I've never seen anything like this."
Brenda Montoya, a 45-year-old U.S. citizen, said she closed her Lake Street shop, Artesania Rosa Mexicana, a handmade clothing and crafts store, in December when the ICE activity first started picking up.
"I don't know whether we'll open again," she said. "I'm scared to go over there. It's not safe right now."
A few blocks away on a more prosperous stretch of West Lake Street, Wrecktangle Pizza had been running a fundraiser that matched each pizza bought by a customer with one the shop will donate to an immigrant family, said Elizabeth Klimenko, sales and marketing manager.
The day after the fundraiser ended, three federal agents in military-style gear came to the shop and found a locked door -- and angry employees. In the confrontation that followed, one of the agents tossed a tear-gas canister, which an employee kicked under their vehicle, enveloping it with noxious fumes. The incident went viral on social media.
"It was quite dramatic and traumatizing," Klimenko said. Now, the restaurant is consolidating its hours and cutting lunch service, figuring that ICE mainly operates during the day. Focusing on fewer hours will make everyone working feel safer, Klimenko said.
A DHS spokesperson said in an email that someone threw a chunk of ice at a Border Patrol vehicle and ran inside the restaurant, prompting the agents to stop. "Agents returned to their vehicle and the crowd followed, forcing agents to deploy crowd control to safely leave the area," the email said.
Such tension has become common in Minneapolis, where the enormous influx of federal officers has met a countermovement of residents armed with whistles, text alerts and cameras to shadow Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Cliff Zawasky, a 48-year-old corporate trainer, stood on the corner outside the pizza shop on Friday with two other volunteers with whistles around their necks. He and his family have been shopping at Mexican grocers and eating out more to help support the local businesses, he said.
"You can't be a resident of this area and just watch what's going on," he said.
A few blocks further down Lake Street sits Lito's Burritos, which owner Miguel Hernandez opened two months ago as the ICE surge was getting started.
"It's been the longest two months of my life," he said. On Friday, the restaurant completely ran out of food by early afternoon. One of the cooks couldn't come in because ICE had detained a relative, Hernandez said, and another cook's phone seemed to be disconnected.
"It's day by day," Hernandez said.
Martino, the merchant mariner, said the influx of newcomers has benefited the city in many ways, with food only one example. "Minneapolis used to have pretty dull food," he said. "And then all of these people came in and people were pretty excited about it. They're getting along with their neighbors. There's no tension here."
Write to Joe Barrett at Joseph.Barrett@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 20, 2026 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments