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Across the United States, activists are spearheading a nationwide strike on Friday, urging individuals to refrain from working, attending school, or shopping. This movement is a direct response to the Trump administration’s stringent immigration policies.
The protests have gained momentum in the wake of the tragic death of Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse who was shot multiple times while filming Border Patrol officers during an immigration operation in Minneapolis. This incident has intensified public scrutiny of the administration’s methods, particularly following the January 7 death of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer while in her car.
“The residents of the Twin Cities have set an example for the entire nation — to halt ICE’s operations, we must SHUT IT DOWN,” proclaimed one of the websites and social media platforms galvanizing support for protests in communities nationwide.
In solidarity, several businesses have declared they will remain closed on Friday during the “blackout.” Meanwhile, others have pledged to remain open but will donate part of their earnings to groups that aid immigrants and offer legal assistance to those facing deportation.
Anticipating widespread student absenteeism, some schools in Arizona and Colorado have proactively canceled classes. Additionally, numerous rallies are scheduled to take place across the country, with students and supporters gathering at city centers, statehouses, and churches to voice their dissent.
Just outside Minneapolis, hundreds gathered in the frigid cold early Friday at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, the site of regular protests in recent weeks.
After speeches from clergy members, demonstrators marched toward the facility’s restricted area, jeering at a line of DHS agents to “quit your jobs” and “get out of Minnesota.” Much of the group later dispersed after they were threatened with arrest by local law enforcement for blocking the road.
Michelle Pasko, a retired communications worker, said she joined the demonstration after witnessing federal agents stopping immigrants at a bus stop near her home in Minnetonka, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis.
“They’re roaming our streets, they’re staying in hotels near our schools,” she said. “Everyone in this country has rights, and the federal government seems to have forgotten that. We’re here to remind them.”
In Michigan, dozens of students walked out of Friday morning classes at Groves High School in Birmingham, north of Detroit. The students braved the zero-degree temperatures and walked about a mile to the closest business district where a number of morning commuters honked horns in support.
“We’re here to protest ICE and what they’re doing all over the country, especially in Minnesota,” said Logan Albritton, a 17-year-old senior at Groves. “It’s not right to treat our neighbors and our fellow Americans this way.”
“The teachers, generally, have been pretty supportive,” Albritton added. “But there was an email sent out last night trying to get us not to do this, and we came and did it anyway.” Albritton said the email was more about the students’ safety.
In Maine, where Republican Sen. Susan Collins announced that ICE is ending its surge, people gathered outside a Portland church on Friday morning, holding signs that said “No ICE for ME,” a play on the state’s postal code.
Grace Valenzuela, an administrator with Portland Public Schools, decried an “enforcement system that treats our presence as suspect.” She said ICE’s actions brought “daily trauma” to the school system.
“Schools are meant to be places of learning, safety and belonging. ICE undermines that mission every time it destabilizes a family,” Valenzuela said.
Portland Mayor Mark Dion, a Democrat, spoke about the importance of speaking out in the wake of ICE’s actions in the city.
“Dissent is Democratic. Dissent is American. It’s the cornerstone of our democracy,” Dion said.
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Associated Press writers Jake Offenhartz in Minneapolis, Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.