Businesses close in Minnesota for anti-ICE ‘economic blackout’

By Elyse Apel
The Center Square

Many businesses across Minnesota closed today as part of an ‘economic blackout’ to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

This comes in response to calls from community leaders, activists, and union leaders for the event, which has been dubbed “ICE Out of Minnesota: Day of Truth and Freedom.”

“The ICE surge that cost the life of Renee Nicole Good is violating the Constitutional and human rights of Americans and our neighbors,” the website for the event said. “It is time to suspend the normal order of business to demand immediate cessation of ICE actions in MN, accountability for federal agents who have caused loss of life and abuse to Minnesota residents and call for Congress to immediately intervene.”

As part of the protest, organizers are also planning a march and an indoor rally at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

They are calling for the day to be a “statewide day of non-violent moral action,” with no work, shopping, or school. Already, hundreds of Twin Cities students have been marked absent in the past weeks—walking out of class to protest ICE.

The event is being organized by Indivisible Twin Cities, the No Kings Coalition, and dozens of other community organizations. They have listed a number of demands, including:

• ICE leave Minnesota

• Hold the ICE agent that killed Renee Nicole Good “legally accountable”

• Federally defund ICE

• Businesses in Minnesota and nationally refuse to do service with ICE

The protest comes just one day after Vice President JD Vance was on the ground in Minneapolis, calling for a restoration of law and order in the city.

“Tone down the temperature, reduce the chaos, but still allow us to enforce federal immigration laws,” he said at a press conference with ICE officials. “These guys are unable to do their jobs without being harassed, doxxed and assaulted. Totally unacceptable.”

Vance promised repercussions for violence.

“Come out and protest,” he said. “Do it peacefully. If you assault a law enforcement officer, the Trump DOJ will prosecute you.”

Also on Thursday, federal officials announced three arrests in connection with a protest that disrupted a Sunday morning church service in St. Paul.

The arrests were made by FBI agents and the investigative branch of ICE, who have had a strong presence in the city the past few weeks.

The anti-ICE protests throughout the Twin Cities escalated in the wake of the Jan. 7 killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during an encounter with ICE officers, who were conducting enhanced immigration enforcement.

Vance defended the surge of forces, upwards of 3,000 federal agents, to the Twin Cities during the news conference.

“We are focused on Minneapolis because that’s where we have the highest concentration of people who violated our immigration laws, and that’s also frankly where we see the most assaultive behavior by our law enforcement officers,” he said.

Currently, Minneapolis is a “sanctuary city,” which means law enforcement is not allowed to cooperate with federal officials or enforce federal immigration laws.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey held a press conference following Vance’s, where he blasted the vice president and ICE.

“We’ve got to find every possible way right now to end this large-scale deployment and send these agents home,” Frey said.