Photo: Brandon Bell / Getty Images News / Getty Images
Protesters across the United States walked out of work, school, and everyday life Friday (January 30) as part of a nationwide strike opposing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
The coordinated action — calling for “no work, no school, no shopping” — comes amid growing outrage over the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, two U.S. citizens fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minnesota earlier this month. The deaths have intensified national scrutiny of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol tactics, particularly in communities already living under heightened enforcement.
According to the Associated Press, demonstrations were planned or underway in multiple states, with organizers urging people to disrupt business as usual to draw attention to what they describe as an immigration system driven by fear, intimidation, and violence.
In Minnesota, hundreds gathered before sunrise outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building near Minneapolis, a site that has become a focal point for protests in recent weeks, the AP reports. Protesters braved subzero temperatures, chanting at Department of Homeland Security agents and demanding that federal authorities leave the state.
Beyond Minnesota, protests stretched coast to coast. ABC 7 New York reported that activists planned demonstrations and solidarity actions across New York City, aligning with the national shutdown to oppose federal immigration enforcement and recent shootings tied to ICE operations.
In Los Angeles, organizers promoted “ICE Out Everywhere” actions as part of the nationwide strike, encouraging residents to skip work, school, and shopping in protest of federal immigration raids, according to FOX 11 Los Angeles.
Businesses also joined the movement. Some shops reportedly closed in solidarity with protesters, while others remained open but pledged to donate a portion of their proceeds to immigrant advocacy and legal defense organizations.
Students participated as well. Walkouts and youth-led demonstrations took place in several states, with students citing fear, community trauma, and opposition to federal immigration tactics as motivation for joining the strike.
Organizers say the nationwide shutdown is meant to force attention on what they describe as a growing pattern of aggressive enforcement — and to demand accountability for the deaths of Pretti and Good, which continue to reverberate far beyond Minnesota.
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