Jan. 23 ‘ICE Out of MN’ general strike to end with Target Center rally
Organizers of the Jan. 23 “ICE Out of MN” general strike are asking people to stay home from work and school and avoid shopping (except at immigrant‑owned or supporting businesses) as a nonviolent political work stoppage tied to prior immigrant‑support actions and protests against ICE enforcement and recent shootings, with mutual‑aid and safety planning but uneven participation expected because of legal, economic and union constraints. The broad coalition backing the day—including faith leaders, unions and lawmakers such as Reps. Jamie Long and Maria Isa Perez Vega—will culminate in a downtown march that now ends with a rally at Target Center, an event whose economic impact comes amid an Extreme Cold Watch.
📌 Key Facts
- Jan. 23’s 'ICE Out of Minnesota' is being organized as a general strike / nonviolent civil resistance day calling on people to avoid going to work, school or shopping to protest Operation Metro Surge and recent ICE shootings.
- Organizers specifically ask workers to stay home if they can, students to skip in‑person classes, consumers to avoid shopping except at immigrant‑owned or supporting businesses, and businesses to close or modify operations; they emphasize mutual aid and safety planning for those who cannot risk missing work.
- The action is part of a broader week of coordinated efforts tied to earlier campaigns like 'Taco Tuesday,' student walkouts and Capitol rallies aimed at supporting immigrant‑owned businesses and protesting enforcement tactics.
- Minnesota lawmakers including Rep. Jamie Long and Rep. María Isa Pérez Vega have publicly endorsed and plan to participate in the Jan. 23 strike; faith leaders and unions are also backing the call, broadening the coalition.
- News outlets frame the event as a work strike and note potential local economic impacts — sectors that could feel effects include construction, hotels, Minneapolis‑St. Paul airport (MSP) and large employers such as Target.
- Organizers and reporters acknowledge participation will likely be uneven because of union contracts, immigration status and financial constraints, but they say symbolic and economic pressure still matters even without a full shutdown.
- FOX 9 warned an Extreme Cold Watch with below‑zero highs is forecast for Jan. 23, a weather factor that could reduce turnout or keep people home.
- Shortly before the event, organizers changed the march route so the demonstration will end with a rally at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, signaling an expectation of a large crowd and concentrated protest activity in the central business district.
📊 Relevant Data
The Somali population in Minnesota has grown to approximately 80,000-100,000 people, making it the largest Somali diaspora in the United States, with significant growth since the 1990s due to refugee resettlement.
How Minnesota became a hub for Somali immigrants in the U.S. — NPR
Somali immigration to Minnesota was facilitated by the Refugee Act of 1980 and voluntary agencies such as Lutheran Social Services, which resettled refugees in areas with strong social services and job opportunities.
Somali and Somali American Experiences in Minnesota — MNopedia
Operation Metro Surge was launched by the Trump administration as the largest federal immigration enforcement operation, targeting criminal noncitizens including gang members with serious offenses like murder and rape.
2,000 federal agents sent to Minneapolis area to carry out 'largest ... — PBS NewsHour
Male Somali immigrants aged 18-29 who arrived in the U.S. at age 15 or younger have an incarceration rate 2 to 5 times higher than comparable natives when adjusted for demographics.
Yes, Somali Immigrants Commit More Crime Than Natives — City Journal
Somali Minnesotans generate at least $500 million in annual income and contribute approximately $67 million in state and local taxes.
Solidarity with our immigrant neighbors — Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
Immigrants overall contribute $26 billion to Minnesota's economy, with Somali Minnesotans contributing an estimated $8 billion.
Economist: Immigrants contribute $26 billion to Minnesota's economy — MPR News
Arrests during Operation Metro Surge include members of gangs such as MS-13, Paisas, and Oriental Boys, with criminal histories involving murder, rape, and burglary.
Under President Trump's leadership, ICE has arrested members of ... — ICE
📰 Source Timeline (6)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Organizers have changed the ‘ICE Out of MN’ march route so that it now ends with a rally at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.
- The decision to shift the endpoint to Target Center was announced shortly before the Jan. 23 general-strike event.
- The Target Center rally framing signals an expectation of a large downtown crowd and further concentrates protest activity in the central business district.
- Business‑journal framing of the Jan. 23 anti‑ICE action squarely as a 'work strike,' emphasizing abstaining from going to work, school and spending money.
- Confirms that the effort is being pushed not only by student and community organizers but also by faith leaders and unions, broadening the coalition beyond what some earlier coverage stressed.
- Provides explicit business‑impact angle by tying the strike call to prior reporting on ICE raids’ potential to slow construction, close hotels, hit MSP, and rattle big employers like Target, adding a clearer picture of what sectors could feel the hit.
- Defines 'general strike' in this context as a political work stoppage, not a union contract strike, and notes there is no legal requirement to participate.
- Details organizers’ specific asks: workers to stay home if they can, students to skip in‑person classes, consumers to avoid shopping except at immigrant‑owned or supporting businesses, and businesses to close or modify operations for the day.
- Explains that the action is framed as nonviolent civil resistance to Operation Metro Surge and the ICE shootings in Minneapolis, with organizers emphasizing mutual aid and safety planning, including for those who cannot risk missing work.
- Clarifies that participation levels will likely be uneven, with union contracts, immigration status, and financial constraints limiting who can safely join, and that organizers still see symbolic and economic value even if the metro doesn’t fully shut down.
- A group of Minnesota lawmakers, including Rep. Jamie Long and Rep. Maria Isa Perez Vega, have publicly endorsed and will participate in the Jan. 23 general strike against ICE.
- Long says he will personally join the blackout to 'feel that discomfort' immigrants are living with and to understand what it’s like to be afraid to do basic things like going to work, school or the doctor.
- Perez Vega frames the strike as a 'pause' meant to send a message that communities deserve to live without fear and that current policies are terrorizing families and undermining the local economy.
- FOX 9 explicitly notes that an Extreme Cold Watch will be in effect on Jan. 23, with below‑zero highs likely helping to keep people home during the strike.
- Article gives practical 'what you need to know' framing for the Jan. 23 'ICE out of Minnesota' day of action, spelling out that organizers are asking people not to go to work, school or shopping.
- It reiterates that many immigrant‑serving restaurants and businesses plan to close and that clergy are calling for statewide participation, tying this to a broader week of coordinated actions.
- It connects the Jan. 23 shutdown explicitly to prior efforts like 'Taco Tuesday' to support immigrant‑owned restaurants and the series of student walkouts and Capitol rallies.