Economist Files Amicus Brief Documenting $275–$320 Million in Economic Harm to MPLS

WASHINGTON - EntSun -- Economist William Michael Cunningham, founder of Creative Investment Research, has filed an amicus curiae brief in State of Minnesota v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al., documenting substantial and ongoing economic harm to Minnesota communities arising from recent federal enforcement actions.

The filing follows the District Court's denial of preliminary injunctive relief and is intended not to relitigate that ruling, but to preserve a detailed economic record relevant to irreparable injury, proportionality, tailoring of future relief, and appellate review.

"This amicus does not seek to relitigate the preliminary injunction standard," Cunningham said. "It provides the Court and any reviewing court with objective economic metrics that help draw principled lines between lawful enforcement activity and system-level economic harm."

Key Findings

Using conservative assumptions grounded in publicly reported conditions, regional economic data, and prior Minneapolis corridor modeling, the brief estimates $276.5 million to $320.0 million in cumulative economic harm to Minnesota communities through December 31, 2026. Documented impacts include:

• Severe disruption of commercial corridors, with small businesses reporting revenue declines of 50–80% on enforcement and protest days
• Public-sector costs exceeding $5 million per month, including law-enforcement overtime, emergency coordination, and school disruptions
• Labor-market and human-capital losses, driven by absenteeism and workforce withdrawal
• Spillover effects from nationwide protests and shutdowns, with Minnesota experiencing disproportionate exposure
• Concentrated and compounding harm to Black residents and Black-owned businesses, due to lower liquidity buffers, sectoral exposure, and coupled household–firm balance sheets

The Court acknowledged "profound and heartbreaking consequences" of the federal actions but declined to resolve novel constitutional questions at the preliminary stage, citing line-drawing concerns.

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The amicus addresses those concerns directly by supplying economic thresholds that identify when enforcement activity escalates from ordinary effects into irreversible system-level harm.

"Economic metrics provide an objective way to evaluate proportionality and foreseeability," Cunningham said. "They do not presume a legal conclusion, but they do inform how future relief, if any, might be tailored."

Grounded Local Experience

Cunningham's analysis is informed by direct work with the City of Minneapolis, including prior economic modeling for New Markets Tax Credit applications covering approximately $120 million in community development investments and projecting thousands of jobs in medical, educational, and workforce-training facilities.

Preserving the Record

The amicus brief is expressly submitted to preserve an economic record for future merits review and appeal, particularly regarding irreparable harm and the public interest. It also notes recent DOJ admissions confirming institutional control failures that heighten the foreseeability and persistence of the documented harms.

For more, see: https://www.impactinvesting.online/2026/02/when-economics-meets-civic-duty-why.html

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