Ranking Member Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts condemned the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics in a statement released on March 12, highlighting the effects of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on small businesses, workers, and consumers across the United States. Markey also introduced a “Know Your Rights” guide for small businesses facing potential ICE actions.
The issue is significant because many small business owners have reported financial losses and disruptions due to ICE activity. According to Markey’s report, cities such as Minneapolis estimated that revenue losses for small, consumer-facing businesses could reach $81 million in January 2026 as a result of ICE operations. In Orange County, California, research from the University of California Irvine School of Social Ecology found that local businesses lost nearly $59 million over eight weeks following ICE raids in May 2025, with neighborhoods with high concentrations of foreign-born residents experiencing spending declines between 20 and 25 percent.
Markey’s report includes accounts from business owners who described the personal and economic tolls caused by these enforcement actions. “Everyone knows someone or multiple people affected by ICE raids. These people are following all of the instructions given to them, only to have the rug ripped out from under them. Kids aren’t going to school and people aren’t going to work because of their fears,” said a small business owner in Sandwich, Massachusetts. Another owner in St. Paul, Minnesota said: “ICE is using my business as a hunting ground. They’re swirling around the block waiting for people.” A third owner from Lake Street in Minneapolis added: “Yesterday, I didn’t make a single dollar. I’ve lived a long time in this country, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”
The report projects that mass deportation policies could reduce U.S. gross domestic product by more than seven percent over three years and cost taxpayers $88 billion annually. It also estimates that by the end of President Trump’s second term there would be 2.6 million fewer employed U.S.-born workers and wage decreases for both immigrant and native-born Americans.
In response to these developments, Markey announced last month the introduction of the Small Business ICE Disruption Fund Act to provide grants for affected businesses. He has also joined other lawmakers in sending letters to Small Business Administration (SBA) officials criticizing new policies barring legal permanent residents from receiving SBA loans.
The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee plays an important role in supporting informed decision-making on national fiscal priorities according to its official website. The committee offers Congress comprehensive policy options regarding federal budget components according to its official website, features Lindsey Graham as chairman and Jeff Merkley as ranking member according to its official website, contributes through resolutions and reconciliation instructions according to its official website, was established through the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 according to its official website, and provides nonpartisan budgetary analysis via oversight of the Congressional Budget Office according to its official website.
Markey concluded his remarks by calling for continued efforts against what he described as harmful immigration enforcement policies: “From Massachusetts to Minnesota, the heartbreaking stories of small business owners and communities point to the same conclusion: Trump’s ICE must be defunded and abolished. We cannot agonize—we must organize and fight to dismantle Trump’s federal fear campaign on America’s Main Streets.”
