Following the death of Veterans Administration nurse Alex Pretti by federal ICE agents this weekend in Minnesota, over 60 CEOs from companies and organizations based in the state have signed an open letter calling for a “de-escalation” of tensions. Minnesota has been embroiled in weeks of protests in response to ICE immigration raids, which have led to the fatal shootings of two citizens in January.
“The recent challenges facing our state have created widespread disruption and tragic loss of life,” said the letter, which was published by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. The letter was signed by: Target’s incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke; 3M chairman and CEO William Brown; General Mills chairman and CEO Jeff Harmening; and leaders from Hormel, Land O’Lakes, Best Buy and all of the state’s major sports teams, including the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, the Twins, the Vikings, United FC and the Wild.
Citing efforts including close communications with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, The White House and local mayors, the execs maintain, “There are ways for us to come together to foster progress.”
The letter is a rare stance, with many companies opting to stay silent during the first year of the second Trump administration, which has enacted aggressive ICE raids in recent months, leading to a wave of arrests and unlawful deportations of both immigrants and American-born citizens in largely Democrat-leaning cities.
In addition to Target, which is already experiencing a decline in sales following a nationwide consumer boycott after ending its DEI initiatives, other companies are working to protect their reputations amid the Minnesota conflict. Chipotle publicly distanced itself on social media from billionaire hedge fund manager and former investor Bill Ackman. This followed a viral post incorrectly attributing Ackman's $10,000 donation to the ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Good to Chipotle’s CEO, which prompted calls for a boycott of the Mexican restaurant chain.
In an instance of poor timing (and perhaps even poorer judgment), tech and finance CEOs including Amazon’s Andy Jassy, Zoom’s Eric Yuan, New York Stock Exchange’s Lynn Martin, Advanced Micro Devices Lisa Su and Apple’s Tim Cook attended a private screening of Melaniajust hours after Pretti’s shooting, sparking backlash and additional calls — which began after a previous visit in which Cook presented the president with an ornate gift in August to symbolize the tech giant’s increased U.S. investment — to boycott Apple products.