New York
—
Corporate giants in the Twin Cities stayed silent, publicly, for more than a month as massive federal immigration operations upended daily life and the local economy.
Alex Pretti’s killing Saturday and growing national anger over the Trump administration’s immigration policies led companies to change course.
Target, UnitedHealth, Best Buy, Cargill and dozens of other Minnesota-based companies issued a joint statement Sunday calling for an “immediate de-escalation of tensions” and for “state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions.”
“The recent challenges facing our state have created widespread disruption and tragic loss of life,” said the statement, released by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.
Some Minnesota Democrats criticized the companies’ statement for failing to mention immigration, condemn the shooting of Pretti or Renee Good — another US citizen who was killed by a federal agent — or urge the administration to remove immigration officers from the Twin Cities.
“It is far from sufficient. The clear way to de-escalate is for ICE to leave,” Minnesota State Rep. Michael Howard said on Facebook. “But I believe it’s a helpful step, albeit a small one.”
Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino and some of his agents expected to leave Minneapolis tomorrow, sources say.
A joint statement from Minnesota companies had been in the works prior to Pretti’s killing Saturday, but discussions accelerated immediately afterward, a person familiar with the letter said.
Target’s incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke on Monday also acknowledged the “incredibly painful” violence in Minneapolis in a video message to employees. He offered resources and support to staff.
Minnesota companies had resisted publicly denouncing immigration operations in recent weeks.
Although customers staged protests at Target and other local stores, immigration officers arrested employees, and small businesses organized a citywide general strike, major companies deemed it too risky to speak out.
Top Minnesota CEOs and business leaders held phone calls about how to respond. Instead of going public, they settled on working behind the scenes to warn Trump administration officials and Republican leaders about economic damage from the surge of immigration agents to Minneapolis, say people close to the companies. The people spoke under the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
Potential retribution from the Trump administration and backlash from conservative customers and employees supportive of its mass deportation agenda contributed to companies staying quiet, these people said.
Many companies, including Target, have been burned in recent years by taking and later reversing positions on social issues. Businesses are wary of a repeat.
These companies, with operations around the United States and internationally, also monitor local and national sentiment closely. They judged that widespread anger over the crackdown in the Twin Cities had not spread nationally.
The decision to speak up and the companies’ guarded language reflect how they are trying to stay in step with broad public sentiment, without antagonizing the administration.
Polling on immigration operations has worsened in recent weeks and some Republican lawmakers in Minnesota and nationwide have started to distance themselves from the crackdown in the state – signs the unease has spread. President Trump has also shifted his message, declining to say whether the officer who killed Pretti acted appropriately and said the administration was reviewing the incident.
Staying quiet on a key economic issue like immigration represents a reversal in the public relations strategies of a once vocal group of corporate giants.
Seventeen Fortune 500 companies are based in the Twin Cities, more per capita than any other US metro and in the top 10 globally. Business leaders call the region a “headquarters economy,” driven by a well-educated workforce of scientists, engineers, marketers and health professionals. The Twin Cities’ long tradition as a welcoming place for refugees and immigrants dating back to the Vietnam War also helped make it a business-friendly hub.
“The success of Minnesota’s economy, both now and in the future, is intrinsically linked to our immigrant communities,” Minnesota’s Chamber of Commerce said in 2021. “Minnesota needs immigrant entrepreneurs and workers. They embody the spirit of our homegrown economy.”
It’s also a noticeable contrast from how these companies responded to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in in 2020.
After the murder, companies in Minnesota responded with public statements within days, built up internal corporate DEI teams, and pledged major investments to scholarship and workforce programs to expand diversity.
Target, for example, invested billions of dollars in Black-owned vendors, opened stores in minority neighborhoods, and stocked shelves with LBGT-themed merchandise for Pride Month.
Just a few years later, however, many companies scrapped their policies because of opposition from the Trump administration, right-wing activists on social media and lawsuits from conservative legal groups.
“As a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future,” Target said last year.
So Target and many businesses in the Twin Cities – and throughout America – went quiet. They’ve found very few reasons to stick their necks out, even tepidly.
Last weekend’s killing of Pretti was one.
