“I don’t like what I see”

Jamie Dimon, Chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co., during the 2025 IIF Annual Membership Meeting on October 16, 2025 in Washington.

Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Wednesday that he disagrees with President Donald Trump’s approach to immigration, offering a rare public rebuke from a U.S. business leader to one of Trump’s signature policies.

Speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Dimon began by praising Trump’s actions to secure the borders of the world’s largest economy. Illegal border crossings at the US-Mexico border fell to their lowest level in 50 years between October 2024 and September 2025, the BBC reported, citing federal data.

But Dimon, who has long advocated for immigration reform to boost U.S. economic growth, also apparently referenced videos of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents allegedly arresting illegal immigrants.

““I don’t like what I see: five grown men beating up a little old lady,” Dimon said. “That’s why I think we should calm the inner anger about immigration a little.”

It’s unclear whether Dimon was speaking about a specific incident or more generally about ICE confrontations.

In the first year of his second term, Trump overhauled U.S. immigration policy, emphasizing mass deportations, tightening asylum access and increased spending on ICE staff and facilities. In addition to a flurry of new policies that changed the landscape for seeking American citizenship, the administration also lifted guidelines on where ICE arrests could take place, leading to raids on schools, hospitals and places of worship.

Unlike during Trump’s first term, American CEOs have largely avoided public criticism of his policies. Wall Street analysts have speculated that business leaders fear retaliation from the Trump administration, which has sued media companies, universities and law firms, and are instead choosing to address the president out of the public spotlight.

On Wednesday, Dimon said he wanted to know more about who was involved in ICE raids: “Are they here legally? Are they criminals? … Have they broken American law?”

“We need these people,” Dimon added. “They work in our hospitals, hotels, restaurants and agriculture and are good people… They should be treated as such.”

“A climate of fear”

For years, in annual shareholder letters and media interviews, Dimon has cited immigration reform as one of the most important ways to enable higher U.S. economic growth.

The veteran CEO of JPMorgan, the world’s largest bank by market capitalization, has previously supported a merit-based system for green cards and citizenship for people brought to America as children, and rejected proposals to limit H-1B visas.

On Wednesday, Dimon called on Trump to allow citizenship “for hard-working people” and “proper asylum opportunities.”

“I think he can do it because he controlled the borders,” Dimon said.

Later in the wide-ranging interview, Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist, told Dimon that she was surprised at how careful he and other CEOs were when talking about Trump.

“You are one of the more outspoken business leaders,” Beddoes said. “I’m really impressed by the unwillingness of CEOs in America to say anything critical. There is a climate of fear in your country.”

Dimon pushed back, saying he had made his views known on Trump’s tariffs, his immigration policies and his stance toward European allies.

“I think they should change their approach to immigration,” Dimon said. “I said it. What the hell else can I say?”