Minnesotans stage statewide "economic blackout" to demand ICE leave - National & International News - FRI 23Jan2026 -

Minnesotans stage statewide “economic blackout” to demand ICE leave

Today will not be business-as-usual for hundreds of businesses across Minnesota. Labor unions, faith leaders and community leaders have called a statewide economic blackout, particularly in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, where federal agents have been staging a heavy-handed crackdown on immigrants and peaceful protesters. The call to action for the protest is “no work, no school, no shopping”. Over 700 locally-owned businesses will close for the day, and consumers are being asked to take a day off from spending at any businesses that remain open. Schools are not closed but are offering remote-learning options for students.

The protest has been dubbed “A Day of Truth and Freedom”. Demonstrators are demanding an end to ICE operations in the state, accountability for the agent who killed Renee Good earlier this month, and an end to federal funding for ICE.

Since the Minnesota operation began in November, ICE agents have detained over 3,000 people (some of them US citizens) and harassed many others as they went about their daily business. Many migrants in Minnesota (even those with legal status) are too afraid to go to work. Organizers of today’s economic protest say they are acting in solidarity with those workers.

Organizers also hope to bring pressure on major corporations based in the state, including Target, UnitedHealth, Best Buy, General Mills, and 3M. These firms have so far refrained from taking any stance on the ICE operations. Organizers have even accused Target of being complicit in the crackdown by allowing ICE to stage in their parking lots and enter stores to arrest workers. Last week, ICE agents violently arrested two Target employees (US citizens) in their workplace.

Similar events are planned in cities across the country, including Boston, New York and Los Angeles, in solidarity with Minneapolis.