‘I don’t like what I’m seeing’

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

Dimon, speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, initially praised Trump’s moves to secure the borders of the world’s largest economy. Illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border fell to the lowest level in 50 years for the period from October 2024 to September 2025, the BBC reported citing federal data.

But Dimon, who has long advocated for immigration reform to boost U.S. economic growth, also made an apparent reference to videos of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers rounding up people alleged to be undocumented immigrants.

“I don’t like what I’m seeing, five grown men beating up a little old lady,” Dimon said. “So I think we should calm down a little bit on the internal anger about immigration.”

It’s unclear if Dimon was speaking about a specific incident, or more broadly about ICE confrontations.

In the first year of his second term, Trump has overhauled U.S. immigration policy with a focus on mass deportations, tightened asylum access and ramped-up spending for ICE personnel and facilities. Among a torrent of new policies that changed the landscape for seeking American citizenship, the administration also rescinded guidance on where ICE arrests could happen, leading to raids at schools, hospitals and places of worship.

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

On Wednesday, Dimon said that he wanted to know more about who is being swept up in ICE raids: “Are they here legally? Are they criminals? … Did they break American law?”

“We need these people,” Dimon added. “They work in our hospitals and hotels and restaurants and agriculture, and they’re good people .… They should be treated that way.”

For years, in annual shareholder letters and media interviews, Dimon has cited an immigration overhaul as one of the main avenues to unlock higher U.S. economic growth.

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

On Wednesday, Dimon urged Trump to allow citizenship “for hardworking people” and “proper asylum” opportunities.”

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

Later in the wide-ranging interview, The Economist Editor-in-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes, told Dimon that she was surprised at how careful he and other CEOs were in speaking about Trump.

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

Dimon pushed back, saying that he let his views be known about Trump’s tariffs, immigration policies and stance towards European allies.

“I think they should change their approach to immigration,” Dimon said. “I’ve said it. What the hell else do you want me to say?”