Following the ICE murder of Renee Good and an assault on the state by federal immigration forces, a labor-community coalition is calling for
MINNEAPOLIS — Unions and community groups gathered in front of the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota this morning to announce a day of “no work, no school, no shopping” on January 23 to oppose the ferocious assault on the state by federal immigration authorities.
“We are facing a tsunami of hate from our own federal government,” Abdikarim Khasim, a Minnesota rideshare driver, told the crowd. “We’re going to shut it down on the 23rd. We’re going to overcome this.”
JaNaé Bates Imari, representative of the church Camphor Memorial UMC, told the crowd that the joint action will be “a day when every single Minnesotan who loves this state — who loves the idea of truth and freedom — will refuse to work, shop and go to school. We are asking every single person, every family member, every teacher, every bus driver, every childcare worker, to come together, to be in community, to stand with one another.”
“What we have witnessed, what we have all gone through, is not normal,” she added. “We have seen through several videos the murder of one of our own, Renee Good. We have witnessed violence, over and over again. Families being ripped apart, loved ones being torn from their hospital beds, from their workplaces, homes. Violence is no longer a threat but a reality that surrounds us.”
Major labor unions in Minnesota are supporting the call, including Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1005, SEIU Local 26, UNITE HERE Local 17, CWA Local 7250, and St. Paul Federation of Educators Local 28 — and organizers expect this list to grow. Faith in Minnesota, a faith-based social justice organization, has also joined the call.Minnesota has a history of joint, coalitional action among community groups, worker centers and unions.
When asked if the groups are calling for a strike, Bates Imari said, “For some people, that is what this will feel like. The reality is that we have to make sure that every single person is doing what we are called to do at this time, that is grounded in their commitment and their conviction. For some people they call that a strike. For many of us, this is our right to refusal until something changes.”
The mobilization comes amid a federal crackdown in the state, led by orders of the Trump administration. On January 7, an ICE agent shot and killed Minneapolis resident and mother Renee Good. A few hours later, federal immigration agents tackled and detained a school staff member on Roosevelt High School property during school dismissal, and sprayed students and workers with chemical irritants, according to witnesses. Action by federal authorities has only escalated since then, and the Department of Homeland Security said on January 11 it was sending “hundreds” more federal agents to Minnesota, on top of the roughly 2,000 the agency claims it already has on the ground.
As heavily armed and masked federal agents have poured through the Twin Cities and throughout the state, working people and residents have been targeted. On December 9, federal immigration agents visited Somali-owned restaurants in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood and asked customers for their papers. On December 13, agents reportedly trapped construction workers on a roof for hours in freezing temperatures. Immigration authorities are reportedly spraying crowds with chemical irritants, detaining workers on the job and injuring them so badly they have to be hospitalized.
In response to this onslaught, Minnesota residents have continuously mobilized: blowing whistles to warn neighbors that federal agents are nearby, delivering food to people who are in hiding, organizing to support students and families at school drop-off and pickup locations, and taking to the streets in large numbers. “Here is the thing I know about Minneapolis,” Christin Crabtree, a Minneapolis Public Schools parent, said at a January 9 press conference. “In this city, we love each other. In this city, we don’t only know that justice is what love looks like out loud, in this city, we actively struggle to build towards that vision everyday.”
On Saturday, at least 10,000 people marched in South Minneapolis to demand ICE leave Minnesota. The rally, organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, called on state and city leadership to protect immigrant workers and hold ICE accountable.
The march was filled with colorful puppets, indigenous dancers, and hundreds of signs both condemning ICE and showing solidarity with Good. The crowd was a diverse mix of members of social justice organizations, labor groups, Minneapolis residents, and supporters from the Minnesota suburbs. Protests chants were sung in English, Spanish and Somali.
The marchers stopped on the street where Good was killed by ICE officer Jonathan Ross, and hundreds of bouquets of flowers, candles, and offerings were left in Good’s honor. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was in attendance and supported calls for ICE to leave Minnesota.
The organizers of the January 23 day of action hope to build on this momentum, and take mass resistance to the next phase.
“When your coworkers aren’t safe, nobody is safe,” Feben Ghilagaber, a server for Minnesota Wild Bar and Restaurant in the Minneapolis – Saint Paul International Airport and a steward for UNITE HERE Local 17, said a day ahead of the press conference. “It’s a nightmare. When you’re driving, you have to look over your shoulder, to see if somebody’s following you, or somebody’s been stopped. Every move you make, you have to be on guard.
But, she adds, workers are in a strong position to take action. “This country is run by workers.”
Isabela Escalona contributed reporting to this article. This article is a joint publication of In These Times and Workday Magazine, a nonprofit newsroom devoted to holding the powerful accountable through the perspective of workers.
