Shakopee business on impact of ICE surge: "This is worse than the pandemic"
Federal agents are largely out of Minnesota, but the impact is still being felt.
State leaders say the economy could take months, if not years, to recover.
Luis Ramirez, owner La Flor De Jalisco in Shakopee, Minnesota, can pinpoint every moment of growth. His family has run the store and restaurant for eight years.
"She's got a few clients that have been at home for two, three months, that haven't gone anywhere," Ramirez said about his mother, Francisca Orozco.
Orozco said things came to a screeching halt.
"A lot of businesses have dropped 40% in sales," Ramirez, who translated for Orozco, said. "We know of a few businesses that had to shut down. There's a few that are up for sale. They couldn't keep up with it."
State Rep. Brad Tabke, D-Shakopee, joined other officials in a virtual news conference on Friday to lay out the impact of the more than $200 million economic crunch.
"On our main street in downtown Shakopee, we have two businesses that have closed doors, closed out," Tabke said. "So this is just unsustainable for our economy, our businesses and for things moving forward."
Ramirez added, "Yeah, this is worse than the pandemic. During the pandemic, people were still coming out to buy. You'd put on your face mask or whatever, and you went out. But right now, people were literally, like, hibernating."
As customers return, Ramirez hopes their growth does, too.