Lake Street merchants, from Mercado Central to El Taco Toro, Manny’s Tortas, Chicago Liquors and Midtown Global Market, are seeing a significant dip in sales since the Trump administration started a crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
Latinos, many of whom are here legally, are staying home, said Ajeleth Reich, whose Pupuseria El Rincon Salvadoreño Restaurant inside Mercado Central has seen a 40% decrease in business the past few weeks.
“Before the election we saw maybe 50 customers a day. Now? It’s about 20. Sometimes 15,” Reich said.
An uptick in delivery orders for the 24-year-old family-owned business has helped fill the gap, but not much.
“Customers are just afraid to come,” Reich said, echoing other Twin Cities merchants. “It’s been pretty dead lately.”
People described Midtown Global Market earlier this week as a ghost town some days.
The crackdown is real. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, more than 8,700 undocumented immigrants have been apprehended nationwide by law enforcement from the day President Donald Trump took office to Feb. 3.
But false rumors abound, exacerbating the effects on businesses that cater to Latinos and other immigrant populations. Those who are in the U.S. legally don’t want to be stopped and questioned or mistakenly caught up in a raid.