- Mireya, a store owner in Minneapolis, lives in constant fear because of ICE raids.
- Her daughters always carry their US passports with them on the way to school.
- Many of Mireya’s regular customers have been arrested or are staying home out of fear.
- Your business suffers greatly from the lack of income. Some days she only makes $5.
The Karmel Mall is silent this morning. Where voices would otherwise sound jumbled together and shopping carts would rumble, now only single footsteps echo across empty sidewalks. The Whittier neighborhood in the heart of Minneapolis appears deserted. Officials from the ICE migration agency have been carrying out raids here for weeks. Many residents hardly dare go outside the door anymore. Customers stay away, even on days when the stores are actually open.
On this day, the shop windows of the Somali shopping mall and most of the surrounding shops are also dark. They are all following a nationwide strike call. Only a single “Open” sign shines beneath a small corrugated iron canopy. Mireya is behind it. The 48-year-old from Ecuador has lived in the USA for over 20 years, is now a citizen and runs her own money transfer business, where she also offers various everyday products. Now she sees not only her life’s work, but also her entire family in danger.
Arrested, barricaded or fled
As Mireya speaks, she keeps looking at the door. Not because she expects customers – but out of a mixture of fear and habit. “Almost everyone is gone,” she says quietly – and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. “Many of my regular customers have been arrested by ICE, the rest don’t even dare to leave the house because of the raids that have been going on for weeks,” says Mireya. Still others would have left the state of Minnesota or even turned their backs on the USA completely. The fear is deep because they fear being arrested, imprisoned and deported because of their origins and appearance.
“My daughters are afraid that I won’t come home anymore.”
The Latina native has two daughters aged eleven and 14. They only left the house with their passports so that they could identify themselves in the event of a raid. “But they are still afraid, also afraid for me. They’re afraid that I’ll be taken away while I’m at work and suddenly won’t be able to come home,” says the mother, tears streaming down her face again. And this despite the fact that Mireya is now a US citizen – “but they don’t care if they see my appearance,” she fears. ICE is increasingly taking action against US citizens, especially if they take part in protests against the migration authority or have a migrant background.
Five to ten dollars profit in 14 hours of work
But that’s not the only reason why the Ecuadorian woman sees the life she has built for herself in the United States over the last 20 years in acute danger – because of the lack of customers, she is also facing major financial problems: “I’m here for 14 hours a day, and sometimes I only earn five or ten dollars,” says Mireya, estimating that at least 60 percent of the regular customers have stopped showing up since the raids began.
The fear that she and her children suffer from is felt throughout the Whittier district, which has a predominantly immigrant population. “We used to spend a lot of time outside, and friends and family often came to visit,” she remembers. Today the opposite is the case: “Everyone is at home. If you have to go outside, spend as little time as possible there.” Her neighbors, who were construction workers, even blocked the doors and windows. They would get food from volunteers and friends.
Nationwide protests against ICE
Mireya also closed her doors on Friday afternoon and turned off her “Open” sign so she could take part in the protests. «I’m afraid to go to demonstrations because I’m Latina. But it’s so important, I have to raise my voice and show that we are here,” said the 48-year-old.
20 Minutes accompanied the protests on Friday and is still on site in Minneapolis – everything that’s going on is in the ticker.
Carolin Teufelberger (cat) has been working as an editor in the News, Business & Video Reports department for 20 minutes since 2024.
Mira Wecker studied journalism and communication at the ZHAW in Winterthur. She gained her first journalistic experience at Gruner + Jahr in Hamburg. After an internship at the ETH Zurich media office, she worked as an assistant producer in the SRF foreign correspondent office in Washington DC. Today she prepares 20 minutes of stories from all over the world as videos at the video desk. She also loves everything that has to do with series, books, films and podcasts.
Benedikt Hollenstein (bho) has been at 20 minutes since 2021. He writes for the news desk and also takes on day management shifts there.
