ICE's enforcement surge in the Twin Cities has cast a shadow over daily life in immigrant communities.

The big picture: Commerce has slowed to a virtual standstill for businesses whose immigrant customers — including legal residents, those with temporary deportation protection, and naturalized U.S. citizens — are staying home for fear they'll encounter ICE.

• The Department of Homeland Security says agents have made more than 400 arrests during "Operation Metro Surge" in raids that have been met by dozens of protests across the metro.

What they're saying: Many immigrants are "so scared to go out just because they're brown, just because they're Black," Colonial Market owner Daniel Hernandez told reporters Tuesday.

Zoom in: Hernandez said business at his Lake Street grocery is down 85% from its normal level. Of his 25 employees, 21 aren't working out of fear of ICE, he said.

• Hernandez and two or three volunteers are now delivering 50-100 orders daily to customers afraid to go outside.

Zoom out: Other community leaders shared similar stories.

• "The clientele has dropped significantly — Latinos, and Somali as well," said Lake Street accountant Rudy Trujillo.
• South Minneapolis' Karmel Mall is now "empty," one restaurant owner told the Minnesota Reformer — one of many enterprises catering to the East African community that's also seeing declines in business.

With St. Paul customers also staying home, landmark Latino grocer and restaurant El Burrito Mercado in St. Paul has shortened its hours — and is screening customers as a precaution against ICE gaining entry, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported.

Plus: Uber and Lyft drivers and advocates told the Metropolitan Airports Commission meeting this week that ICE agents are asking drivers at MSP Airport to produce their passports.

• Legal advocates have been educating parents on how to appoint a temporary guardian for their children if they're detained on immigration grounds, MPR News reported.

The other side: "Riddle me this: how is arresting rapists, child pedophiles, gang members, and burglars hurting Minneapolis?" a DHS spokesperson told Axios. "They should have two words for law enforcement, THANK YOU."

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The child care industry relies heavily on immigrant workers — but it's unclear whether ICE's recent surge is straining Minnesota providers.

Stunning stat: Nationwide between January and July — as immigration enforcement first ramped up — more than 39,000 foreign-born child care workers dropped out of the workforce, according to a New America report.

• That in turn forced U.S.-born working mothers to stay home and care for their kids, Axios Phoenix's Jessica Boehm reported.

Friction point: Minnesota providers have been struggling to hire staff since at least the COVID pandemic.

• That makes it hard to say whether Operation Metro Surge has had an impact, a spokesperson for Child Care Aware Minnesota told Axios.

Yes, but: "Some child care centers have been visited by ICE," wrote Kelly Martinson, spokesperson for Kids Count on Us, a coalition of 500 providers statewide — which has spiked fears among parents and providers.

• "Children of immigrants," she added, "are asking if they should bring their passports with them to child care."

💬 Parents: If you've noticed changes in your child care provider's staffing, reply to this email.

"If people are here legally, that's great, that's the way it should be. If [criminals] are here illegally ... why would you not want these people to be gone?"

Local Republican Party operatives applauded ICE's surge, calling it a fulfillment of President Trump's campaign promises.

By the numbers: From January through mid-October, 44% of the people ICE arrested in Minnesota had no criminal record, according to the Deportation Data Project.

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🔑 Perhaps 140,000 Kia and Hyundai owners in Minnesota will be eligible for free anti-theft hardware upgrades after the carmaker settled a multi-state lawsuit. (KARE11)

🐘 Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter and Twin Cities broadcaster, is considering a run for Minnesota's U.S. Senate seat in 2026 as a Republican. (Semafor)

✍️ Gov. Tim Walz signed executive orders taking modest steps aimed at curbing gun violence after failing to muster legislative support for more sweeping new regulations. (MPR News)

🗳️ Meg Luger-Nikolai won last night's Democratic primary for an open state House seat representing parts of St. Paul. She'll face Republican Dan Walsh in January's special election. (Background via Axios)

• DFLer Shelley Buck advanced to the special election for a House seat in Woodbury.

Savory Bakehouse will move from Longfellow to a much larger space near the State Fairgrounds in St. Paul, per Longfellow Whatever.

• The shop will continue to operate in its current location through the holidays until the move in early 2026.

🥦 Dreamstate, the all-day cafe from the owners of Reverie, is now open in Lowry Hill East in Minneapolis. Expect plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, plus a special late-night menu from 10-11pm.

🍔 Comfort food spot Two Mixed Up expanded to the skyway of Deluxe Plaza in Minneapolis, per the Star Tribune.

🥪 The last Minnesota location of sandwich shop Milio's — in Linden Hills — is closing "in the very near future," per Bring Me The News.

More restaurant news … including some hot pie intel

🗓️ Mark your calendar with our Event Board.

Minneapolis Winter Events throughout the city Jan 1-Feb 28: Enjoy a full winter calendar of Minneapolis festivals, performances, art events, markets, and more all season long.

Musician Frank Zappa once famously warned, "Don't eat the yellow snow."

Why it matters: Before you catch snowflakes on your tongue this winter, you should heed his advice.

How it works: Think about the snowflake you cut in kindergarten, with all its different edges and angles.

• That's a lot of surfaces — far more than a drop of rain — and when it falls through the atmosphere, it collects more airborne pollution particles, Colorado State University hydrologist Steven Fassnacht explained.

Between the lines: Forever chemicals, vehicle emissions, dust and microplastics are often hidden in the snow — and sheds off of your winter gear, like your coat or ski poles.

The bottom line: It's not just the yellow snow you should think twice about.

Warn your friends