MINNEAPOLIS – On a recent afternoon, a once-bustling hub of Somali commerce showed a different face, with rows of businesses shuttered within its expansive walls.

Located in south Minneapolis, Karmel Mall houses over a hundred small enterprises, offering a wide range of services and products, from clothing and food to insurance and accounting. Yet, on Thursday, the usual hustle and bustle were replaced by a quiet calm, broken only by the occasional conversations between vendors. The aroma of fried food lingered from the bakeries, the central heating provided a soft hum, and the gentle recitation of the Quran could be heard from some shops.

Inside, many shopkeepers found themselves alone, their clothing stores devoid of the usual foot traffic. Business owners expressed concerns over the presence of federal immigration agents, which has instilled fear in both sellers and customers, regardless of their citizenship status. This anxiety has led some to not open their shops, anticipating a lack of patrons.

“It’s been like this for three weeks now,” shared Abdi Wahid, who helps out at his mother’s convenience store in the mall. “Everywhere it’s all been closed up, all the stores.”

Serving as a vital economic and cultural center for the largest Somali community in the United States, Karmel Mall also includes residential spaces, a mosque, and Quran classes, making it a central pillar of the neighborhood.

The economic impact of the Trump administration’s “Operation Metro Surge” stretches beyond the Somali community: many immigrants are on edge, afraid to go to work or leave their homes amid the immigration crackdown.

But President Donald Trump has made the Somali community a special target of his deportation rhetoric after a recent government fraud case in Minnesota included a number of Somali defendants. Since December, Trump has made numerous jabs at the community, calling them “garbage” and saying “they contribute nothing.”

Wahid said early afternoons at the family business once meant 15 to 20 customers. These days, it’s tough to get one.

Wahid is a citizen, but he said the fear extends beyond just immigrants. Citizens are also scared of coming in, especially following the killing of Renee Good and the ICE raid at Roosevelt High School in south Minneapolis.

“I think that caused a lot of people to not even want to come,” he said, because they could be targeted “just because of their race.”

Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that law enforcement uses “reasonable suspicion” to make arrests under the fourth amendment.

“A person’s immigration status makes them a target for enforcement, not their skin color, race or ethnicity,” she said.

Upstairs, Bashir Garad runs Safari Travel & Accounting Services. Not only has the crackdown in Minneapolis meant he’s lost almost all his customers, but his existing clients are cancelling upcoming trips because they’re worried they won’t be let back into the country.

“They see a lot of unlawful things going on in the city,” he said. “They look at something bad, and then they think some bad things may happen to them.” The majority of his clients are East African, and nearly all are U.S. citizens. They still hesitate to travel.

“The government is not doing the right thing,” he said. “If there’s a criminal, there’s a criminal. Regardless, there are ways to find the criminal, but to marginalize the community’s name, and a whole people, that is unlawful.”

Ibrahim Dahiye, who sells electronics, said winter always used to be slow, “but now it’s totally different. No one comes here. All the stores are closed, few are open.”

Since the crackdown began, Dahiye said his business is down $20,000 monthly, and he’s now pooling funds to make rent.

He said he’s lost most of his customers. His employees are too scared to come to work. He tapped his jacket pocket, saying he keeps his passport on him at all times.

“I don’t know what we can do,” Dahiye said. “We believe in Allah, but we can’t do anything.”