Rallies flood Minneapol is streets to protest ICE, businesses close

By Maia Coleman & Talya Minsberg

Thousands of protesters shut down parts of Minneapolis and St. Paul as hundreds of businesses closed their doors, and workers and students stayed home to demand an end to the sweeping immigration crackdown that has roiled the Twin Cities for weeks. The action on Friday, which unfolded in subzero temperatures, was the most widespread and organised demonstration since federal agents arrived in Minneapolis more than six weeks ago. It was aimed at pressuring the federal government to pull thousands of its agents from the streets.
The day of protests followed weeks of clashes between Minnesotans and federal agents, mostly in the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas. The immigration operation, which started late last year, has led to some 3,000 arrests, at least two shootings in Minneapolis and chaotic scenes on the streets. Calls for the ouster of federal agents have grown from residents and local officials, especially after a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good, an American citizen, in Minneapolis on January 7. Protesters and state officials have also filed lawsuits to restrict the agents’ conduct and to block the surge.
The largest of the protests on Friday descended on downtown Minneapolis from late afternoon into the early evening, as thousands marched to the Target Center, the home arena of the state’s two professional basketball teams. Protesters carried signs and chanted over and over for ICE to leave the city. Those in the crowd cited different indignities that drove them to the streets.
“I got emotional,” said Butchy Austin, a founder of Brass Solidarity, a racial justice activist street band, as he looked at the crowd of thousands. “There’s resistance and a level of fight, but it’s a fight stemming from love for our neighbours.” Austin said the group, which formed after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, came out to the Target Center on Friday afternoon because they have seen “how music can bring resistance and joy, and a message of hope and change.”
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, delivered an impassioned speech at the Target Center, praising Minnesotans for taking a day away from their typical activities to make their voices heard. “We are meeting ICE violence with nonviolence,” she said.
Hundreds demonstrated at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport earlier on Friday, some from as far away as New York, flitting in and out of one of its terminals to stay warm. Inside, protesters shared hot chocolate and hand warmers, and compared the layers of clothes they used to brave the bitter cold. After warming up enough to face the elements, they returned to the sidewalk, while police officers warned them to stay out of the street or they would face arrest.
At one point, a group of clergy stepped off the curb, knelt on the pavement and began to pray. “Everybody’s got a right to live and before this campaign fails, we’ll all go down to jail,” they sang. Protesters, many wearing snowsuits and ski goggles, cheered as police arrested a few dozen of the clergy and loaded them onto buses.
The protests on Friday were part of a general strike organised by residents, faith leaders and labour unions. The purpose, according to organisers, was to demonstrate the resolve of residents.
In neighbourhoods around Minneapolis, many businesses and shops sat empty, with some posting signs in their windows expressing solidarity. In St. Paul, Roots Roasting had an orange sign announcing their closing. “General strike,” it read. “No work, no school, no shopping, ICE out.” Down the street, Spyhouse Coffee, part of a local chain, had a handwritten sign announcing its closure to “stand in solidarity with our community and other businesses.” The same was true for just about every coffee mainstay in the Twin Cities.
Word of Friday’s strike and protests spread “like a wildfire” in the preceding days, said Jake Anderson, an executive board member with the St. Paul Federation of Educators, a union representing teachers and educational support professionals. Hundreds of businesses, mostly in Minneapolis and St. Paul, said they would close. On Friday, it seemed as if many followed through on that promise.
On Thursday, Vice-President JD Vance said the Trump administration wanted to “turn down the temperature” in Minneapolis. Vance, who said he had travelled to the city to understand the tensions, called protesters “far-left agitators” who had harassed federal agents. He also said a “failure of cooperation” by state and local officials was to blame for the situation getting “out of hand.”
In an email on Thursday, a Department of Homeland Security official called the strike “beyond insane,” asking, “Why would these labour bosses not want these public safety threats out of their communities?” The official then included a list of immigrants lacking legal status who had apparently been convicted of serious crimes. Minnesota has 17 Fortune 500 companies. But they have not spoken publicly about the federal immigration activity, and none of Minnesota’s 15 biggest employers, including Target, UnitedHealth Group and Xcel Energy, responded to requests for comment this week.