A Minnesota taxpayer-funded program created to help businesses weather the economic fallout from a major federal immigration crackdown has been brought to an early end after officials encountered a flood of applications suspected of fraud.
Hennepin County, home to Minneapolis and Minnesota’s most populous county, established its Small Business Recovery Fund after businesses reported financial losses during Operation Metro Surge, the federal immigration enforcement operation that began on December 1, 2025.
County officials set aside roughly $2 million for the program, which was intended to provide emergency assistance to brick-and-mortar businesses that said they suffered financially during the enforcement surge.
