The Minneapolis City Council voted on $7 million for the small business resilience fund to give businesses a chance to recover from Operation Metro Surge.
Last Thursday, the city council voted unanimously to give $7 million from the Downtown Assets Fund to the Small Business Resiliency Fund. This comes after Operation Metro Surge officially ended, reported the Star Tribune. On Friday, two members of Congress said there were only 500 agents in Minnesota.
Minneapolis’ small businesses have been struggling since ICE entered the state due to some employees fearing detention, which forces some to stay at home. Minneapolis businesses lost $81 million in business revenue and $47 million in employee wages, according to city data.
Emilia Gonzalez Avalos, executive director for Unidos MN, said in a statement the operation devastated businesses in Minneapolis.
“The federal government’s harm to small businesses cannot be overstated, particularly businesses that are immigrant-owned,” Avalos said. “The economic and human cost is devastating.”
City Council member Jason Chavez (Ward 9) said the fund was made to help businesses affected by Operation Metro Surge.
“It started by the community, who has been reaching out since this operation began, where many of them have been struggling to stay afloat,” Chavez said. So we figured that if our small businesses are losing at least, at a minimum, five to ten million dollars a week, the city should be helping address those issues one way or another.”
At the meeting, Council member Robin Wonsley (Ward 2) said taking money from the Downtown Assets Fund could help businesses stay afloat.
“Inaction, not doing anything, will result in damage to our community,” Wonsley said. “If ICE agents leave Minneapolis but hundreds or even thousands of businesses close, then we have failed to take action against Operation Metro Surge.”
Mayor Jacob Frey has been critical of the city council’s budget spending in the past. When the city council voted on $1 million for rental assistance, Frey said in a letter that it could cause problems for the upcoming budget.
“While these efforts are noble, we cannot continue spending the city’s resources — be it general fund or other sources — at this rate,” Frey said. “We will need to make budget cuts because of this council action and given the enormous costs we have involuntarily incurred through Operation Metro Surge.”
The Community Planning and Economic Development department would oversee the program. Erik Hansen, the Director of CPED, said the process for the fund would take time to create an application and a way to evaluate how ICE has affected the businesses.
Russ Adams, initiatives manager of the Lake Street Council Corridor Recovery, said in a statement that the neighborhood has lost tens of millions of dollars in the last two months.
“At least half of immigrant-owned businesses have temporarily closed,” Adams said. “Small businesses on Lake Street and across Minneapolis need our community’s support to survive this crisis. That includes shopping at local businesses, making donations and supporting initiatives like the proposed small business resiliency fund.”
Chavez said even with the funds, Minneapolis would need more help from the state government to aid in recovery.
“If our cultural corridor, the smaller businesses are going to shut down, that’s going to have an impact on the economy, and it’s going to have an impact downtown,” Chavez said.
