Minnesota’s business community has mostly stayed quiet amid President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in the state despite widespread public backlash, but the recent fatal shooting by federal agents has prompted a call for peace.
In an , more than 60 CEOs stated that the business community has been working behind the scenes with officials for several weeks—including Gov. Tim Walz, the White House, Vice President JD Vance, and local mayors.
“Given yesterday’s tragic news, we are calling for an immediate de-escalation of tensions and for state, local, and federal officials to collaborate to find real solutions,” the statement added.
Notably, the statement avoids any criticism and does not go so far as to demand immigration officers leave the city—a step Gov. Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and other elected officials have taken.
This comes even though Saturday’s shooting marks the third incident of its kind in the state this month and the second fatal one. It also follows days of reports about Minnesota immigration officers detaining young children, arresting U.S. citizens, and forcibly entering homes without judicial warrants.
Video evidence also contradicts the Trump administration’s claim that Alex Pretti—a veterans hospital nurse—threatened Border Patrol agents before being shot.
“In this difficult moment for our community, we call for peace and focused cooperation among local, state, and federal leaders to achieve a swift and durable solution that allows families, businesses, our employees, and communities across Minnesota to resume building a bright and prosperous future,” the Chamber of Commerce letter added.
It was signed by numerous companies and executives, including leaders of like 3M, Best Buy, General Mills, Land O’Lakes, Target, UnitedHealth, U.S. Bancorp, Xcel Energy, and Hormel.
Target, as a prominent Minnesota company, has specifically amid the immigration crackdown.
ICE has detained employees at the retail giant’s stores, and community activists are demanding that Target take a stand against the raids.
Meanwhile, tech leaders in are increasingly and more clearly taking sides against the Trump administration.
Meta’s chief AI scientist, , simply posted “Murderers” while reacting to footage of the shooting.
, director of product at Labs, wrote: “This video is too painful to watch, yet we have to burn it into our memories. ‘They had already disarmed him’ is the key fact here. Then they executed him. It’s shameful. No matter what side you’re on, what happened today is unacceptable.”
In a , she warned: “It’s only a matter of time before they show up in force here in the Bay Area.”