A Minneapolis Fed report details how much Trump’s immigration crackdown hurt businesses and workers: ‘There are not any people to hire’

If President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota was like a military campaign, then a new report from the Minneapolis Fed reads like a battle-damage assessment.

The bank—which covers Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota, as well as parts of Wisconsin and Michigan—issued one of its periodic Beige Book reports on business and economic conditions on Wednesday.

Like a war, the surge of federal agents to Minneapolis came with a name: Operation Metro Surge. It started in early December, but tensions in the city exploded a month later, when immigration officers killed two people, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, while observers captured videos of young children and elderly people being detained.

The Minneapolis Fed’s report described conditions in a staid manner, noting flat overall economic activity in its district. While prices, wages, and consumer spending were rising, the area’s agricultural, manufacturing, and real estate sectors were weak.

But details shared with the Minneapolis Fed by businesses it surveyed revealed how much damage Trump’s immigration crackdown inflicted. One contact from a landscaping firm said it had caused workers to either stay home or leave the area.

“We are hiring now to replace these workers or get more reliable alt...