The immigration enforcement surge has taken an economic toll on many Minnesota communities, especially in the Twin Cities. As workers and customers stay home, some restaurants, construction firms and other businesses that employ immigrants are struggling to stay open.

Minneapolis officials estimate the city lost more than $200 million in economic activity in a single month. And, when spending contracts this quickly, the impact ripples through industries far beyond those directly touched by immigration enforcement.

MPR News host Angela Davis takes a look at the economic impact of ICE, proposals from local and state governments to support struggling businesses and how to move forward.

Guests:

• Chris Farrell is the senior economics contributor for MPR News and Marketplace. 
• Neil Linscheid is a state specialist in entrepreneurship and expert in community economics for University of Minnesota Extension. He works alongside local leaders to develop practical, community-centered strategies that build and drive long-term economic health. 

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.  

The Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus is one of the oldest and largest gay choruses in the country.

For 45 years, it’s built a sense of community among its singers and has spread joy and awareness in the broader community.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the artistic director and chorus members about the choir’s history and how music can heal and bring people together through hard times.

Guests:

• Gerald Gurss has been the artistic director of the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus since 2018. He is also a composer and has served as artistic director and founder of choruses in North Carolina.  
• Carlos Saldaña sings tenor with the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus. He joined the chorus in 2013 and has also served in several roles, including as a member of the board of directors.  
• Mikal Nabors is a tenor with the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus. He joined the chorus in 2011 after singing with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.  

More federal funding for public health is on the chopping block. MPR News host Angela Davis talks about what the cuts could mean for Minnesota and why a federal judge stepped in to temporarily block them. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with former St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter about his eight years in City Hall, the lessons he’s learned and what’s next.

Guest:

• Melvin Carter III served as mayor of St. Paul for eight years. Elected in 2017 and reelected in 2021, he was the city’s first African American mayor. Prior to his election as mayor, he served as St. Paul City Council member for Ward 1, representing the neighborhood he grew up in. He is the founding board chair of the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood and served as the director of the Minnesota Office of Early Learning. He has roots that go back four generations in St. Paul. His father was a St. Paul police officer and his mother was a teacher and Ramsey County commissioner.

The immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota is ending, said Tom Homan, the border czar for President Donald Trump.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Thursday he’ll back an aid package to support state businesses, especially immigrant-owned business, hurt by the surge of federal immigration agents in Minnesota over the past two months.

Walz told reporters he’ll propose a $10 million emergency fund, similar to an effort during the COVID-19 pandemic, that would offer forgivable loans targeted at small businesses.

During this special coverage following the announcement from Homan, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with guests about the impact of the immigration surge on the community. Plus we’ll hear live coverage of Gov. Walz’s announcement and comments regarding the federal immigration actions.

Guests:

• Michael Lansing is a professor of history of Augsburg University who has studied the history of policing in Minneapolis.
• Brian Bakst is the MPR News politics editor.
• Dana Ferguson is a politics reporter for MPR News.
• Zachary Aaker is an immigration attorney at Martin Law in Bloomington, Minn.
• Zena Stenvik is the superintendent of Columbia Heights Public School District.
• Brenda Lewis is the superintendent of Fridley Public Schools.

The federal immigration enforcement actions have brought a sense of fear and uncertainty to many communities in Minnesota.

Many people — especially immigrants and their families — are feeling unrelenting stress. Others are feeling anxious and exhausted as their workplaces, schools and neighborhoods navigate sudden changes and loss.

Coming up at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks about how to live through a crisis — how to process grief, protect yourself when anger is everywhere and cope when you feel overwhelmed without resorting to “toxic positivity.”

Names removed from mailboxes. Businesses shuttered. More packages from online retailers. These are just a few of the changes mail carriers say they’ve noticed since President Donald Trump’s administration sent a surge of federal immigration agents to Minnesota in early December.

MPR News host Angela Davis hears from mail carriers about how ICE activity is affecting their work and the people they serve, and how their familiar routes feel different.

Guests:

• Artis Curiskis is a reporter and producer for the Center for Investigative Reporting — a nonprofit, independent, investigative newsroom that produces the radio show “Reveal,” the print magazine Mother Jones and the podcast “More To The Story.” You can hear his recent report about the changes mail carriers are noticing on their routes here: How Minneapolis Taught America to Fight Back.
• Luke Ferguson is a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier who delivers along a Minneapolis route ten blocks from where he grew up.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.     

Construction always slows during winter in Minnesota. But this year, federal immigration crackdowns are causing an even bigger slowdown in the industry.

Builders and remodelers who rely on immigrant labor say enforcement activity is making it harder to keep crews on the job. Many immigrant workers are staying home out of fear — worried about being detained, questioned and harassed by immigration officers. 

And when crews aren’t available, projects drag on and costs rise.  

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a homebuilder and a labor organizer about the impact of federal immigration enforcement on workers, businesses and the construction industry.

Plus, MPR News senior economics contributor Chris Farrell shares the latest economic news headlines.

Guests:

• Dave Remick is the owner and president of McDonald Construction, a smaller, custom homebuilding company based in Burnsville, Minn. with projects throughout the greater Twin Cities.  
• Patricio Cambias is an organizer with Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha, an organization working to protect worker rights and improve conditions for non-unionized workers in the construction industry in the Twin Cities metro area. 

For many people, the federal immigration activity in Minnesota creates fear and raises urgent questions about safety and belonging. For others, it’s a call to witness, document and respond. 

Artists are often among the first to translate historic moments like this — to give shape to emotions that can feel overwhelming or hard to name. Through poetry, visual art, murals, performance, and music, they help communities process what’s happening in real time. 

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a poet, a ceramic artist and a graphic artist about what they’re seeing, feeling and creating in this moment.

Guests:

• Junauda Petrus is the Poet Laureate for the city of Minneapolis. She is an author, playwright, filmmaker and co-founder of the experimental artist collective, Free Black Dirt. She is the author of the award-winning young adult novel, “The Stars and the Blackness Between Them,” and the children’s book, “Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?”   
• Terresa Hardaway is the owner and creative director of Blackbird Revolt, a social justice-based design studio in Minneapolis. She’s an associate professor of graphic design and the director of Design Justice in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. She is also the owner of Black Garnet Books in St. Paul. 
• Sayge Carroll is an artist and co-founder of Mudluk Pottery Studio in Minneapolis.  

Federal immigration enforcement is fueling a growing rent crisis. Many immigrant workers — even those with legal authorization — fear leaving home due to increased enforcement, while others are losing income as workplaces cut hours or shut down. Without paychecks, rent and other bills go unpaid.

Advocates report a surge in calls to tenant hotlines and emergency assistance programs, particularly in immigrant communities, and some leaders are calling for a temporary ban on evicting tenants.

MPR News host Angela Davis discusses how immigration enforcement is upending people’s livelihoods and how communities are responding.