Some members of the Twin Cities' immigrant community say Operation Metro Surge is now only striking fear in the Latino and Somali communities, but it's also harming their small businesses.

At Plaza Mexico on Lake Street, the tables are empty and certain stalls are closed. There are businesses with the lights off because employees were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in just the past few weeks. 

"Why do they hate us so much?" Gladys Ramos asked through tears. 

Ramos is one of several store operators inside the sprawling Plaza Mexico on East Lake Street and Fifth Avenue. She sells everything from teddy bears to speakers. As she showed WCCO her inventory, she could barely keep from crying, concerned that she was going to lose her business as people stayed home to avoid getting swept up in the operation. 

"What did I do to deserve so much hate to us? What did we do? We just work, we just contribute to this country. What did we do?" Ramos said. 

Daniel Hernandez, who owns and operates Colonial Market and Restaurant on East Lake Street and 21st Avenue South, said that there are hundreds of stories similar to his along Lake Street. The corridor is enriched by both Latino and Somali businesses, communities that share concerns about the operation. 

While there have been high-profile clashes with protesters, Daniel Hernandez said that many people are getting detained quickly and somewhat quietly on the sidewalk on Lake Street. 

"They are snatching people from the streets," he said. "Many people say, 'Oh, they're fearful because they don't have papers.' That is not correct. They're fearful because they are Latinos being targeted by ICE." 

Data shows that from Jan. 20 to Oct. 15, ICE arrested 1,694 people in Minnesota. Since the federal agency's escalated operation began last week, the agency has announced 19 arrests, but anecdotal accounts and videos suggest that the total number detained since December began is far higher. This week, a Minneapolis city councilor discussed media reports that place the number detained at around 400 people. 

Daniel Hernandez said that the struggle on Lake Street will soon have ripple effects. He said that business owners and employees in the area are not only paying taxes, they're paying other businesses throughout Minnesota to supply them with meat and other products. 

"It's not so much about getting the worst of the worst. They are getting anybody. They are grabbing anybody who doesn't look white," Daniel Hernandez said. 

The Colonial owner said he's preparing to deliver groceries to people afraid to leave their homes. Ramiro Hernandez, the owner of Bymore Supermercado in St. Paul, Minnesota, is doing the same, free of charge. 

"This is not a time to make money, this is a time just to survive," Ramiro Hernandez said. 

WCCO has reached out to ICE for comment on recent operations and has not heard back.   

The Minnesota chapter of the Council for American-Islamic Relations organized a day of action on Friday for Somali businesses in Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

"We encourage folks to patronize the business, to learn about the community," said Jaylani Hussein, the council's executive director. "And this will send a strong message to Minnesotans and all of us that our neighbors are going to come visit us, our neighbors are going to be available, and most importantly, to also help the businesses that have been significantly impacted."