Minnesota is facing a rare and historically significant moment as labor unions, grassroots organizations, and community groups organize around a statewide work stoppage in response to an intensified federal immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities. The January 23 Day of Action calls for a complete halt to daily economic activity. Organizers describe it as “no work. No school. No shopping,” framing the action as a collective moral response to the presence of federal immigration authorities across the state.
More than 50 labor unions, nonprofits, and community organizations have signed onto the Day of Action. Some organizers describe the effort as a general strike, while others refer to it as an economic blackout. If carried out at scale, it would be the first general strike in Minnesota since 1934, when Teamsters launched a months-long work stoppage that reshaped labor relations statewide.
The mobilization follows the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge, which has brought roughly 3,000 federal immigration agents into Minnesota. Public outrage escalated after the January 7 killing of Renee Nicole Good by an officer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The killing sparked protests not only across Minnesota but nationally, intensifying scrutiny of ICE operations in urban communities. One week later, ICE officers shot a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis, claiming he attempted to assault an officer with a shovel.
On January 19, ICE officers entered the home of a Hmong-American man in St. Paul with guns drawn and forced him outside wearing only a bathrobe and underwear. Images of the arrest circulated online, prompting condemnation from St. Paul’s mayor and other officials. The incident added to growing fear in immigrant neighborhoods already reeling from weeks of raids and surveillance.
Polling cited by organizers reflects a broader shift in public opinion. According to YouGov, 46 percent of Americans support abolishing ICE, the highest level ever recorded. In Minnesota, that sentiment has translated into escalating direct action.
Simon Elliott, an organizer for the Party for Socialism and Liberation, said the scale of the planned shutdown reflects both urgency and strategy. “This is the clearest and most powerful way that we can send a message, both to the Trump administration and to immigrant members of our community,” Elliott said. A list of businesses pledging to close on January 23 is circulating online, with more joining as the date approaches.
The Day of Action has evolved from an initial call by immigration organizations such as Unidos MN and faith leaders pushing for a “Day of Truth and Freedom” into a mass mobilization explicitly opposing ICE’s presence in Minnesota. Centro De Trabajadores Unidos En La Lucha, known as CTUL, has played a key role in that expansion. CTUL has been organizing immigrant workers in the Twin Cities since 2007, particularly those historically excluded from the labor movement.
Lucho Gomez, CTUL’s director of campaign strategies, said the January 23 shutdown is not the endpoint of organizing efforts. “This is an opportunity to assess where we need to pivot to ramp up the pressure to get ICE out of Minnesota,” Gomez said. He emphasized that CTUL’s longstanding labor networks have enabled rapid development of mutual aid and community support systems during the ICE surge.
Organized labor has increasingly aligned behind the call for a statewide work stoppage. The Minneapolis Federation of Educators is among the unions endorsing the action, citing repeated ICE activity around schools. Natasha Dockter, vice president of the union, described the impact on students and families. “In the last few weeks, federal immigration enforcement agents have created hazardous and dangerous conditions in our community that threaten the very right of children to receive an education,” Dockter said.
The Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, which represents roughly 80,000 workers in Minneapolis and the West Metro area, has also endorsed participation. Federation President Chelsie Glaubitz Gabiou acknowledged that not all members will be able to fully stop working but emphasized alternative forms of participation. “If they have to go to work, then they are not going to shop. If they have to send kids to school, then they will find another way to show up in the community,” Gabiou said.
The coalition extends beyond traditional labor groups. Kat Rohn, who heads LGBTQ+ advocacy organization OutFront MN, said the current political moment has prompted unprecedented collaboration. “It is formal organizations working with informal neighborhood groups and supporting one another to better respond to the moment and give folks effective actions they can take, to look out for their neighbors, to protect one another,” Rohn said.
At the neighborhood level, residents have organized rapid response networks to counter ICE activity. Volunteers stand at intersections with whistles, prepared to alert neighbors to the presence of federal agents. These efforts have continued despite temperatures dropping well below zero.
Economic disruption tied to the ICE surge is already evident. On the Lake Street Corridor in South Minneapolis, home to many Somali- and Latino-owned businesses, foot traffic has declined sharply. Some businesses have closed entirely, while others keep doors locked to prevent agents from entering. Luis Argueta, director of communications at Unidos MN, said the downturn is widespread. “Foot traffic is down everywhere. It doesn’t matter what industry, but it’s because of the fear, and because of the number of agents. We have a lot of businesses that have closed,” Argueta said.
Critics of the economic blackout argue it could further harm immigrant-owned businesses already struggling weeks into Operation Metro Surge. Organizers counter that ICE’s presence is the primary cause of economic harm. Minneapolis City Council Member Soren Stevenson addressed the criticism directly. “What’s going to help our community economically is getting ICE out as soon as possible,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson took office just days before Good’s killing. During the 2020 George Floyd uprising, a Minneapolis police officer shot him in the eye with a rubber bullet, permanently blinding him. He said the Day of Action is designed to build lasting power beyond January 23. “The goal of the Day of Action is to expand the coalition, get more and more people and organizations involved so that we can be more powerful the day after,” Stevenson said.
Small businesses are also participating despite financial costs. Benched Press, a South Minneapolis business, plans to close on January 23 while continuing to pay employees. Co-owner Jane Shannon said the decision was rooted in solidarity. “We wanted to figure out a way to join in solidarity with other businesses and say what is happening is not right,” Shannon said. Her co-owner Andrew Shannon emphasized the sacrifice involved. “It’s unfortunate we have to sacrifice our own money, our payroll, to send a message. It’s unfortunate that money is what makes people talk and think and that breaks my heart,” he said.
Organizers are also directing pressure at major Minnesota-based corporations, calling on them to use their influence to oppose ICE operations. Companies named include Target, UnitedHealth Group, and Best Buy. Organizers are additionally demanding that Target and Home Depot refuse to allow ICE to use their properties as staging grounds and instead become “4th Amendment businesses.”
The January 23 Day of Action is framed as a statewide pause for nonviolent moral reflection and collective action, culminating in a peaceful march and rally in downtown Minneapolis at 2:00 pm. While participation levels remain uncertain, organizers argue the scope of coordination already represents a turning point.
“We’re gonna win because there are thousands and thousands of us who are united against this, and there are only so many federal agents,” Stevenson said.
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