More than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies yesterday signed a letter urging “an immediate deescalation of tensions” in the state after the killing of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol officer, and weeks after the fatal shooting of Renee Good. Both were killed during protests as Immigrations and Custom Enforcement (ICE) has descended on Minneapolis, detaining at least 2,500 people—including at least one child, a 5-year-old.
The letter avoids assigning blame for the violence, and stops short of demanding that ICE leave the state, as many Democrats and state officials have. “The recent challenges facing our state have created widespread disruption and tragic loss of life,” the letter reads.
Among the CEOs and entities to sign the letter are Corie Barry, the CEO of Best Buy; Dana Erickson, the CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota; the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx; Gunjan Kedia, the CEO of U.S. Bancorp; and Beth Ford, the CEO of Land O’Lakes.
That’s three Fortune 500 female CEOs—Barry, Kedia, and Ford. The letter, released by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, said that “representatives of Minnesota’s business community have been working every day behind the scenes with federal, state and local officials to advance real solutions” for the past several weeks. It says they have been in communication with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the White House, the vice president, and local mayors. (The president himself is not specified.) “There are ways for us to come together to foster progress,” they write.
