{"id":1404231,"date":"2026-02-04T14:39:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T19:39:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/?p=1404231&preview=true&preview_id=1404231"},"modified":"2026-02-04T15:30:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T20:30:54","slug":"campaign-launched-to-support-immigrant-owned-businesses-impacted-by-ice-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/04\/campaign-launched-to-support-immigrant-owned-businesses-impacted-by-ice-surge\/","title":{"rendered":"Campaign launched in Minnesota to support immigrant-owned businesses and neighborhood shops impacted by ICE surge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Julian Ocampo\u2019s family opened their first Mexican-American restaurant in Minneapolis in 2003, following it up over the years with a chain of Los Ocampo restaurants and bars, or sister eateries, including Mr. Taco in Maplewood and Machete Cocina Mexicana in Woodbury.<\/p>\n

With customers and workers alike fearful of being detained by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, all eight sites went on hiatus on Jan. 7, closing their doors due to plummeting sales and a lack of staffing.<\/p>\n

Five of the family\u2019s eateries will serve food again by the end of the week, though some will still offer take-out only and keep their doors locked to screen customers. The Los Ocampo on Arcade Street on St. Paul\u2019s East Side, which is situated in an area heavily monitored by ICE, will remain shuttered.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now we\u2019re in survival mode,\u201d said Ocampo on Monday, predicting smaller mom-and-pop Latin businesses will go bankrupt. \u201cThey\u2019re hurting bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A
A worker sets up the kitchen at the Los Ocampo restaurant in St. Paul on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (John Autey \/ Pioneer Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As she visits with shop keepers at Hmong shopping centers, restaurant owners in the Latin and ethnic Karen communities, and immigrant grocers, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her hears the same story again and again. Even naturalized U.S. citizens are afraid to leave their homes, fearful that they won\u2019t have the language skills to avoid detainment by federal agents.<\/p>\n

As a result, many immigrant businesses have reported losing 60% or more of their sales. Some have already closed their doors, scared of being raided by federal agents, or keep their shops locked so they can screen every visitor at the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cClosing a business happens very quickly, but starting one up can take years, which means this is going to impact us,\u201d Her said. \u201cEven if (ICE) were out of here in another couple of months, this is going to have a lasting economic impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Notes
Notes of support from community members decorate the windows of the Los Ocampo restaurant in St. Paul on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (John Autey \/ Pioneer Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shop Local, Stand Together campaign<\/h4>\n

With rents and utilities coming due but little income in sight, some restaurants, grocers, hair salons and other immigrant-owned businesses have turned to the online fundraising platform GoFundMe.com<\/a> to appeal to the public for help.<\/p>\n

Taqueria El Charrito, which closed its doors in early January, is \u201ca beloved, family-owned restaurant on the West Side of St. Paul that has served as a gathering place for the local Latino community,\u201d reads a GoFundMe solicitation<\/a> created by a longtime customer. \u201cIt has provided not only food, but jobs, stability, and cultural connection.\u201d<\/p>\n