Richard Reeve KSTP Updated: 2 hours ago
Drive along Cesar Chavez Street, on St. Paul’s west side, and you’ll notice something missing.
“They’re closing early today at three o’clock, in fear,” declares Bobby Cruz, who lives in the neighborhood. “Kids are not going to shop in the market now that so many families are scared.”
Streets are quieter.
Store aisles are empty.
Some merchants are locking their doors.
They say it’s because of the presence of ICE agents in the area.
“Many employees at businesses are not wanting to go to work because they are afraid about the situation,” says a friend of the owner of La Guadalupana Market.
He spoke to KSTP on the condition that his name not be used in this story.
A sign for customers read, “We are here — knock the door.”
“We have to open and close the door all the time because we are really afraid of the situation we have in Minnesota about the ICE,” the friend says.
The owner, who spoke with us off camera, says she typically has about 200 customers a day.
That number has dwindled down to 30.
She says she’s thrown out about $3,000 worth of unbought produce in the last two weeks.
“They’re all closed, closing early,” explains Santino Franco, who lives nearby. “It’s devastating. This could potentially look a lot different in another year, this neighborhood.”
El Burrito Mercado was closed Monday and open on Tuesday until three in the afternoon.
Some in the area say they’re afraid to go to work for fear of being racially profiled or detained by ICE agents.
“They’ve been seeing a decline of people coming in, so they’re worried about not just their business, but just keeping their livelihood,” notes Mari Swanson, her arms full of baked goods from Don Panchos Bakery.
We spoke on the phone with the owner, Panchito, who didn’t want to share his last name.
“We’ve asked our employees to just take a break and stay home,” he says.
Panchito says he’s sent all 15 of his employees home with pay, he says, for their own safety.
“When they go into your establishment with no warrant, no court order, guns out like continuously, yelling at us, pushing us out of the way, you’re not safe anymore,” he notes.
Many in the neighborhood say their biggest concern is that all this is open-ended.
No one knows how long ICE agents will continue to operate in the Twin Cities and impact residents and shoppers.
“They can’t come to work. The people aren’t coming to eat; people aren’t coming to shop. It’s just not good,” Franco says. “There’s anger, there’s frustration, there’s hatred — but then, there’s hopefulness, because in this neighborhood here, we take care of ourselves and we’re going to come back from this, but it’s tough right now.”