Hundreds of businesses across the Twin Cities were closed Friday morning as thousands of Minnesotans were expected to participate in a daylong economic blackout to protest the federal immigration crackdown that has roiled their state.
Billed as “A Day of Truth and Freedom,” the event was organized by local faith, labor and community groups who called on residents to abstain from work, school and shopping. Dozens of demonstrations and prayer vigils were scheduled across the metro, with an afternoon rally at Target Center in Minneapolis serving as the centerpiece to the day’s events.
Organizers say more than 700 businesses pledged to close for the day, including dozens in greater Minnesota.
“We’re seeing a lot more participation than I think we expected,” said Lisa Erbes, co-leader of Indivisible Twin Cities. “It really has been amazing to see how many businesses — small businesses, medium-sized businesses — are joining us. It shows you how people all across the Twin Cities and the state feel about this.”
The shutdown got a little help from the weather, with sub-zero temperatures prompting many Twin Cities school districts across to cancel classes and forcing St. Paul’s Winter Carnival to postpone its outdoor kick-off event.
Day of Truth and Freedom
The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have deployed more than 3,000 agents to Minnesota, where their tactics have been condemned by local political leaders, including St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her.
Protests against the crackdown escalated in the wake of the Jan. 7 shooting death of 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross.
Organizers of the Day of Truth and Freedom issued a list of four demands ahead of Friday’s protest: that ICE leave Minnesota, that Ross be “held legally accountable” for Good’s killing, that Congress halt funding for ICE and investigate the agency, and that businesses “cease economic relations with ICE and refuse ICE entry or using their property for staging grounds.”
St. Paul city council member Nelsie Yang, who represents the city’s East Side, endorsed the shutdown Thursday during a news conference of Asian community members and business owners at Ha Tien Supermarket.
Yang said federal agents have targeted Asian, Somali and Latino residents regardless of citizenship status, pointing to the arrest of a Hmong American man last week in which ICE officers marched ChongLy “Saly” Scott Thao out of his St. Paul home wearing boxer shorts and a blanket.
“ICE agents and this authoritarian Trump regime have wreaked havoc in our cities over and over,” Yang said. “They have used dehumanizing tactics, racial profiling, intimidation, and lawlessness in our cities, and we need them out.”
Erbes said organizers hope the shutdown helps keep the national spotlight on Minnesota and ICE activities in the state.
“We want all Americans to understand what’s happening here and join us in solidarity against what we see as illegal behavior by ICE,” Erbes said. “We
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need people to see first-hand just how bad it is.”
“We’re not naive in thinking that if we hold one giant protest that it will change the minds of anyone in the (Trump) administration,” she added. “It would be nice if it did, but we’re pretty realistic in our expectations.”
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