Minnesota’s Ecuadorian community is flourishing, but its future is uncertain

Business bustled on a sunny fall afternoon at Miriam’s cevichochos food stand on a northeast Minneapolis street corner.

Cevichochos, a dish made by marinating Andean chocho beans and vegetables in citrusy ceviche sauce, are a favorite street food in Ecuador. Miriam, who came to the U.S. in 2022 and is being identified by her first name only due to her immigration status, launched her small food stand three months ago.

Minnesota has had a stable Ecuadorian community for years, largely concentrated in Minneapolis and Columbia Heights. But many more have immigrated to the state in recent years as deteriorating conditions in the South American country have sparked a mass exodus since 2022, with thousands fleeing gang violence and extortion.

At 11,921 cases, Ecuadorians have the largest number of pending cases at Fort Snelling Immigration Court, more than double the number from second-placed Mexico, according to data compiled by Syracuse University. Among immigrants in Minnesota, Ecuadorians also have the most pending asylum cases as of 2024 at 1,920, according to the most recent data available.

As President Donald Trump’s administration closes off avenues for immigration and ramps up mass deportation efforts, the prospects for Minnesota’s growing Ecuadorian community are uncertain.

But those here say they’re happy to live and work in Minnesota, where new businesses are cropping up to serve them. El Paraiso, a supermarket and restaurant serving the Ecuadorian community, opened this summer on Central Avenue. Columbia Heights firefighter Bertha Orellana, one of the store’s three co-owners, said they saw a business opportunity to serve the surge in Ecuadorians.

“We wanted to make a place where people could find products from home,” Orellana said.

Ecuadorian immigration to the U.S. exploded in the early 2020s. Conditions in the country deteriorated rapidly during the pandemic, and its economy struggled to recover. Criminal organizations from Colombia and Peru became more powerful in Ecuador, using its Pacific ports to ship cocaine to North America and Europe, according to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, a nonprofit. People began fleeing en masse.

In 2023, a record number of Ecuadorians were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, with more than 99,000 crossing the southern border. Many crossed illegally, and then promptly turned themselves in to immigration officials. Former President Joe Biden’s administration allowed most to be paroled into the U.S., meaning they were allowed to legally live in the country temporarily and put into removal proceedings.

While in removal proceedings, many applied for immigration status that could allow them to stay longer or permanently, such as permanent residency or asylum. People who apply for those statuses are typically eligible for a legal work permit.

Biden authorized a special family reunification program in 2023 that allowed Ecuadorians who were in the U.S. lawfully to sponsor relatives for an immigrant visa. The Trump administration ended that program.

For Ecuadorians who crossed into the U.S. and have cases before immigration court, prospects are limited, said immigration lawyer Graham Ojala-Barbour. Despite efforts in Congress and by cities, including Columbia Heights, Minneapolis and St. Paul, a temporary protected status (TPS) program was never put in place for Ecuadorians. The humanitarian program allows people to legally stay and work in the U.S. if their home countries are experiencing violent conflict or natural disasters.

In September, a legal decision known as the Matter of H-A-A-V was issued, which allows judges to dismiss asylum applications based on fear of criminal violence. That process sidesteps the established practice of allowing applicants to argue their case at a court hearing.

“In the past, pretty much everyone would have a hearing if they applied for asylum,” Ojala-Barbour said. The new system “raises due process concerns, because at least some cases in which people are fleeing from gang violence could be legitimate asylum cases.”

Many Ecuadorians have work permits in the U.S., and are not considered to be in the country illegally absent a final order of removal, but U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will still detain Ecuadorians and hold them if they crossed the border without permission.

That’s what happened to Kevin Murillo Lucero, an Augsburg University student who came from Ecuador as a minor and was in the process of applying for asylum. Despite having a work permit and active asylum case, Murillo was detained by ICE on Aug. 5, when immigration officers targeted another man in the same vehicle. He was held in Sherburne County jail for more than a month, before voluntarily leaving the U.S., said his attorney Evangeline Dhawan-Maloney.

Murillo plans to apply for a student visa so he can resume his studies at Augsburg, she said. He was following a legal process, she said, and she believes the Trump administration’s actions contradict U.S. law.

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