JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon during the 2025 IIF Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, DC, October 16, 2025.
Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images
JP Morgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said Wednesday that he disagrees with President Donald Trump’s approach to immigration, in a rare public rebuke for one of the president’s signature policies for a U.S. business leader.
During a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Dimon initially praised President Trump’s move to secure the borders of the world’s largest economy. The number of illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border fell to its lowest level in 50 years from October 2024 to September 2025, the BBC reported, citing federal data.
But Mr. Dimon, who has long advocated for immigration reform to boost U.S. economic growth, also explicitly referenced footage of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents rounding up alleged illegal immigrants.
“I don’t like the idea of five adults beating up a little old lady,” Dimon said. “So I think we need to calm down some of the domestic anger towards immigration.”
It’s unclear whether Dimon was talking about a specific incident or ICE conflicts more broadly.
In the first year of his second term, President Trump overhauled U.S. immigration policy, focusing on mass deportations, tightening asylum access, and increasing spending on ICE personnel and facilities. In a flurry of new policies that have changed the landscape of U.S. citizenship, the administration also rescinded guidance on where ICE arrests may occur, leading to raids on schools, hospitals, and places of worship.
Unlike during President Trump’s first term, American CEOs have largely avoided public criticism of his policies. Wall Street analysts have speculated that business leaders fear retribution from the Trump administration for suing media companies, universities and law firms, and are instead choosing to sue the president out of the public eye.
Dimon said Wednesday he wanted to know more about the people caught up in ICE raids, saying, “Are they here legally? Are they criminals? … Did they violate American law?”
“We need these people,” Dimon added. “They work in our hospitals, hotels, restaurants, agriculture, and they are good people. … They should be treated that way.”
“Climate of fear”
For years, Mr. Dimon has cited overhauling the immigration system as one of the key levers for further growth in the U.S. economy, in his annual letter to shareholders and in media interviews.
The veteran CEO of JPMorgan, the world’s largest bank by market capitalization, has previously backed merit-based systems for green cards and citizenship for people brought to the United States as children and pushed back on proposals to limit H-1B visas.
On Wednesday, Dimon called on President Trump to grant citizenship and the opportunity for “decent asylum” to “hard-working people.”
“I think he can because he controls the border,” Dimon said.
Later in the wide-ranging interview, Economist Editor-in-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes told Mr. Dimon that she was surprised by the cautiousness with which Mr. Dimon and other CEOs talked about Mr. Trump.
“You are one of the most outspoken business leaders,” Bedoes said. “I am genuinely shocked that American CEOs have nothing critical to say. There is a climate of fear in your country.”
Mr. Dimon pushed back, saying he had made his views known about President Trump’s tariffs, immigration policy and stance toward European allies.
“I think we need to change our approach to immigration,” Dimon said. “I’ve already said it. What else do you want me to say?”
