ICE in Minnesota: Activists call for no work, school or shopping on Friday
Day of action to protest ICE scheduled for Friday
A day of action is planned for Friday, Jan. 23, across Minnesota to protest ICE. Businesses, restaurants, and more plan to shut down, and people are encouraged not to buy items, go to school, or work.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The surge of immigration officials in the Twin Cities and Minnesota has led to protests and calls for ICE to leave Minnesota. This Friday, clergy, activists and others are calling for no shopping, no work and no school on what organizers are calling a "Day of Truth and Freedom."
ICE out of Minnesota: Day of Truth and Freedom on Friday
What we know:
According to Indivisible Twin Cities, Minnesotans will come together on Friday, Jan. 23, for "ICE out of Minnesota: Day of Truth and Freedom."
This will be a "statewide day of non-violent moral action, reflection" where people are asked to not go to work, not go to school and don't go shopping. Instead, they will only participate in "community, conscience, and collective action," Indivisible Twin Cities says.
A planning meeting was held Monday in Minneapolis to teach people how to organize their coworkers, students and neighbors to participate. Faith leaders have also asked people to pray and fast on Friday if they're able to.
What you can do:
Indivisible Twin Cities says there will be a rally and march in downtown Minneapolis at 2 p.m. on Friday. You can find more information on the event here.
Many restaurants and local businesses have already announced closures for Friday. Clergy members on Tuesday plan to announce hundreds of places of worship in Minnesota that will participate in Friday's shutdown denouncing the ICE surge.
Friday's planned shutdown and "Day of Truth and Freedom" will be the culmination of various events planned for the week leading up to Jan. 23 to denounce ICE. There's a push on Tuesday for people to eat at local, immigrant-owed restaurants for "Taco Tuesday." These restaurants have suffered in the wake of ICE's Operation Metro Surge because many workers are too afraid to come to work and customers are staying home.
Push to eat local on 'Taco Tuesday' amid ICE operations
There's a push on social media to encourage people to go eat at local restaurants in the Twin Cities metro amid ongoing ICE operations. The idea is to help struggling local restaurants, especially those owned or operated by immigrants, during ICE's operations in Minnesota.