Minnesota strike shut down businesses, campuses and cultural institutions in protest over ICE surge

# Minnesota strike shut down businesses, campuses and cultural institutions in protest over ICE surge

IO Digest Desk

Tens of thousands of people took part in a Minnesota economic blackout on 23 January 2026, closing businesses, campus facilities and cultural institutions in protest at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge in the state.

The Guardian reported that the “Day of Truth & Freedom” drew community leaders, labour unions and faith groups into what organisers called a “no work, no school, no shopping” action. About 100 clergy members were arrested during the day, and hundreds of local businesses shut their doors in solidarity. The Minneapolis city council endorsed the action, while institutions including the Walker Art Center, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Science Museum of Minnesota and the Minnesota Children’s Museum also closed.

The protest was triggered by the killing of Renee Good, an unarmed woman shot by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis earlier in the month. Organisers said their demands included the removal of ICE from Minnesota, accountability for the officer who killed Good, an end to additional federal funding for ICE and an investigation into the agency for alleged human rights and constitutional violations.

The action extended far beyond downtown Minneapolis. At the Minneapolis-St Paul airport, hundreds of clergy gathered to call for an end to the ICE surge and to urge airlines to oppose the agency’s presence in the state. In the afternoon, thousands in winter gear marched through subzero conditions and ended with a rally at the Target Center. The day unfolded in temperatures organisers had said would make participation physically punishing, with wind chills forecast as low as minus 20F.

Labour support was broad. The Minnesota AFL-CIO, which represents more than 1,000 affiliated local unions, endorsed the protest along with dozens of other unions. A labour leader told The Guardian the goal was to find a meaningful way to stop what organisers described as federal escalation. A childcare worker who shut down for the day said families they served had been consulted and gave strong backing to the move.

The university sector was also affected. Student-worker and staff unions at the University of Minnesota called on the system to shut down so students and employees could join the action. A graduate union leader said immigrant communities and international students were under attack, while a university spokesperson said the institution supported lawful civic expression but also had to keep operations running.

The federal response was hostile. The Department of Homeland Security said it had made 3,000 arrests in Minnesota over the previous six weeks and noted that 3,000 immigration officers had been dispatched to the state, with 1,500 soldiers on standby for possible deployment. A DHS spokesperson dismissed the protest as an attempt by labour bosses to protect criminals and cited photos it said showed undocumented immigrants with criminal records.

The scale of the blackout reflected how immigration enforcement in Minnesota had become not only a policing issue but a civic and political one. Businesses, schools, unions, churches and public institutions all turned the day into a public challenge to the Trump administration’s deployment strategy. Whether it changes federal policy is unclear. What is clear is that the protest itself became a statewide show of force, even in severe winter weather.