MINNEAPOLIS, MN.-
Civic leaders and labor unions organized a massive protest in Minneapolis on Friday against the intensified immigration policies of President Donald Trump's administration, which have focused their raids on this "sanctuary city," where undocumented immigrants receive special protection.
The organizers called for an "economic shutdown": no work, no school, and no shopping on a day they called "Day of Truth & Freedom."
Hundreds of businesses closed for a demonstration in response to the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and the actions against immigrants.
"It's time to suspend business as usual to demand an immediate end to ICE actions in Minnesota, accountability for the federal agents who have caused loss of life and abused residents of Minnesota (where Minneapolis is located), and for Congress to intervene immediately," the organizers stated.
Tensions in the state of Minnesota have risen in recent weeks following the death of Renee Good, the 37-year-old mother of three who was shot by an ICE agent while in her car on January 7, and citizen protests have intensified since then.
In addition, the detention of several minors, including a five-year-old boy who remains held with his father at a detention center in San Antonio, Texas, has increased the outrage of many citizens who feel helpless in the face of ICE's actions.
Amid this climate of tension, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance visited the city on Thursday and met with ICE agents in a gesture of support for his administration's immigration policies. The large-scale raids in Minnesota were ordered by the Trump administration in early January, after a documentary by a conservative YouTuber brought renewed attention to cases of federal funds being embezzled by daycare centers operated by members of the Somali community, which the president himself has repeatedly criticized.
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