General Strike Shakes Minneapolis, Demanding Removal of ICE

A general strike has shaken Minneapolis as thousands of workers, students, and community members participated in a 24-hour shutdown demanding the removal of ICE agents from Minnesota.

“For the past 15 days the city of Minneapolis, the leading city in Minnesota's northern state, has become the front line in the fight against the Trumpist ICE in the United States”

Izquierda Web

The mobilization comes amid Operation Metro Surge, which deployed approximately 3,000 ICE agents and Border Patrol officers to the state.

Izquierda Web

This action represents the latest escalation in a growing conflict between the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement policies and local communities with strong democratic traditions.

The strike reflects deep community outrage over ICE's operations, which have extended beyond standard immigration enforcement to include warrantless raids, racial profiling, and use of force against local residents.

ICE operations in the Twin Cities have had profound impacts across Minneapolis and St. Paul communities, affecting residents far beyond those directly encountered by enforcement agents.

Survey data collected by the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at UC San Diego reveals that 28.3% of adults in Minneapolis and 17.0% in St. Paul reported interactions with ICE agents during Operation Metro Surge.

Newswise

Among those who had encounters, a significant majority described constitutional violations, with 73.1% in Minneapolis and 94.7% in St. Paul reporting that agents failed to show warrants.

Enforcement activities occurred at sensitive locations in over half of cases, with 52.6% in Minneapolis and 38.5% in St. Paul reporting encounters near schools, healthcare facilities, childcare centers, courthouses, or places of worship.

The situation escalated dramatically following the death of Reneé Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen who was fatally shot by ICE agents while in her automobile this month during supervision of ICE activities.

“La huelga general sacude Minneapolis reclamando la salida del ICE - La convocatoria laboral conduce al cierre de cientos de negocios en la capital de Minnesota, mientras las movilizaciones inundan las calles contra el ICE y la política represiva de Donald Trump”

Tercera Información

Her death sparked immediate and widespread outrage, prompting Trump to escalate enforcement operations rather than address the brutality.

This escalation included an agency memo instructing agents to conduct warrantless raids on private residences, a measure described as 'flagrantly unconstitutional.'

The situation worsened when ICE agents detained Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old boy, using him as bait to arrest his father, with footage of the child being restrained against a patrol shocking public opinion.

These incidents have been compounded by at least two cases of protesters blinded by shots from 'non-lethal' weapons to the face, along with bullet wounds and close-quarters clashes.

The ICE deployment has created unprecedented tensions between federal and state/local authorities, with Trump's administration taking aggressive action against Minnesota officials.

Federal officials have announced charges against both Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, creating an unusual political standoff.

Izquierda Web

Federal officials publicly declared 'absolute immunity' for ICE patrols, while Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, a rarely used statute that would allow deployment of the Armed Forces on domestic soil.

This threat follows Trump's previous interventions in six cities with federal troops.

The situation has reached a critical point where Trump appears determined to use federal power to override state and local resistance to his immigration policies.

Despite extremely low temperatures in the border state with Canada, the general strike mobilization has gained significant momentum with hundreds of businesses closing in solidarity.

“Newswise — New survey data from the U”

Newswise

The strike, called by major labor unions, has been joined by platforms, religious leaders, and political organizations, transforming into a broad movement against Trump's policies.

Newswise

In one of the largest actions, hundreds of protesters marched to the state's main airport, demonstrating the widespread nature of the resistance.

Local police responded to the protests by arresting and zip-tying dozens of demonstrators who did not resist, indicating the intensity of the crackdown on dissent in the Twin Cities.