Minnesota unions, faith groups call statewide economic strike against ICE
Thousands of union members, faith leaders, and residents across Minnesota are expected to take part in a statewide economic strike on Friday, as organizers seek to halt the activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the state, reports a Qazinform News Agency correspondent.
The action, titled “A Day of Truth and Freedom,” calls on Minnesotans to stay away from work, schools, and shops in protest against intensified federal immigration enforcement. The Minnesota AFL-CIO, representing more than 1,000 affiliated local unions, has formally endorsed the initiative.
In a statement, the federation said the strike is directed “against ICE’s occupation of our communities and the unconstitutional detention of countless innocent Minnesotans, including a significant number of union members.”
“They are indiscriminately targeting Minnesotans of color, regardless of citizenship or immigration status,” said Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham. He added that many residents now fear routine activities such as going to work or sending their children to school. According to Burnham, protesters will demand that ICE leave the state, that no additional funding be allocated to the agency, and that corporations stop cooperating with it.
🚨This is disturbing.
— Jesus Freakin Congress (@TheJFreakinC) January 22, 2026
ICE agents are now holding U.S. citizens down and spraying pepper spray, inches from their eyes, while they’re already on the ground, in Minneapolis.
In the video, you watch ICE agents assault U.S. citizens. One unarmed man is thrown to the ground by two… pic.twitter.com/ZSZk3PndR7
The mobilization follows the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on January 7 by ICE officer Jonathan Ross. The incident, captured on multiple videos, triggered protests in Minnesota and beyond.
Chelsie Glaubitz Gabiou, president of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation of the AFL-CIO, said intensified enforcement has left workers fearing for their lives. “They’ve had to make gut-wrenching, life-altering choices about whether they’re going to go to work or stay home and stay alive,” she said.
Dozens of cooperatives and businesses across Minneapolis and St. Paul have announced closures in solidarity. More than 50 labor unions, nonprofits, and community groups have signed on to the January 23 Day of Action, which organizers describe as an economic blackout and the largest labor mobilization in the state in decades.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that protests over the fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Renee Good by an ICE officer have continued across Minnesota this week, fueling sustained demonstrations and clashes with federal immigration authorities following the January 7 incident that sparked nationwide outcry.
