In Minneapolis, a coalition of labor unions, progressive groups, and faith leaders is calling on Minnesotans to abstain from work, school, and shopping this Friday. The collective action aims to protest against immigration enforcement within the state.

“Our goal is to exert significant pressure to ensure that I.C.E. leaves Minnesota,” stated Kate Havelin from Indivisible Twin Cities, one of over 100 organizations involved. “Their current presence on our streets is unacceptable, and we are committed to pushing for change.”

The call for protest comes amid ongoing tensions in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Demonstrations have become a daily occurrence following the death of Renee Good, who was shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer during a January 7 operation. Federal officers have increased their presence, leading to confrontations with community members and activists who keep a vigilant watch on their movements both online and on the ground.

Recent developments include the arrest of a notable civil rights attorney and two others who were part of a protest that interrupted a church service in Minnesota. This incident highlights the escalating unrest surrounding immigration enforcement.

Vice President JD Vance made a visit to Minneapolis to engage with ICE officials. He emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts between federal and local authorities to improve the situation. Vance also urged that the protests remain peaceful, underscoring the need for constructive dialogue and cooperation.

Friday’s mobilization was planned as the largest coordinated protest action to date, including a march in downtown Minneapolis despite dangerously cold temperatures that the National Weather Service forecast in the single to double digits below zero (-20 to -30 degrees Celsius).

While organizations have asked participants to prepare for the cold, Havelin compared the presence of immigration enforcement to just such winter weather warnings.

“Minnesotans understand that when we’re in a snow emergency … we all have to respond and it makes us do things differently,” she said. “And what’s happening with ICE in our community, in our state, means that we can’t respond as business as usual.”

More than a hundred small businesses in the Twin Cities, largely coffee shops and restaurants, said they would close in solidarity or donate part of their profits, organizers said.

Ethnic businesses especially have lost sales during enforcement surges as both workers and customers stay away fearing they would be detained.

But some are deciding to close anyway, preferring to take a stance in solidarity rather than the “unscheduled interruption” of having agents apprehend staff, said Luis Argueta of Unidos MN, a civil rights group.

Many schools were planning to be closed for a variety of reasons. The University of Minnesota, which has about 50,000 students enrolled, said there would be no in-person classes because of the extreme cold warning, and the St. Paul public school district said there would no classes for the same reason. Minneapolis Public Schools were also scheduled to be closed Friday “for a teacher record keeping day.”

Clergy planned to join the march as well as hold prayer services and fasting, according to a delegation of representatives of faith traditions ranging from Buddhist to Jewish, Lutheran to Muslim.

Bishop Dwayne Royster, leader of the progressive organization Faith in Action, arrived in Minnesota on Wednesday from Washington, D.C.

“We want ICE out of Minnesota,” he said. “We want them out of all the cities around the country where they’re exercising extreme overreach.”

Royster said at least 50 of his network’s faith-based organizers from around the U.S. were joining in the protest.

About 10 faith leaders were planning to travel to Minnesota from Los Angeles while others from the same group planned a solidarity rally in California, said one of the organizers there.

“It was a very harrowing experience,” said the Rev. Jennifer Gutierrez of the large enforcement operation in Los Angeles last year. “We believe God is on the side of migrants.”

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