US cities hold anti-ICE protests during nationwide day of action
Minnesota holds economic strike to protest ICE presence
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Minneapolis as part of nationwide demonstrations against immigration enforcement action after the fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal agents.
Protests were also held in cities across the US, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington DC, with organisers calling on Americans to stay home from work and school.
The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have ignited local protests and caused public outcry across the country, and led to criticism from lawmakers in both parties.
Earlier on Friday, the US Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into Pretti’s death.
The 37-year-old nurse was the second Minneapolis resident shot and killed by federal immigration officials since their arrival in the state. Good, the first, was killed by an Immigration and Customs Border Enforcement (ICE) agent on 7 January.
Organisers of the protest, called the National Shutdown, called for “no work. No school. No shopping” on 30 January and to “stop funding ICE”.
The action was organised over the deaths of Pretti and Good, as well as others killed by ICE including Silverio Villegas-Gonzales, who was shot by an ICE agent in September 2025, according to the group’s website.
Protesters formed the letters “SOS” on top of a frozen lake in southern Minneapolis, while one group marched through the streets carrying a large-scale replica of the preamble to the US constitution.
Singer Bruce Springsteen also performed a newly released song in honour of Pretti and Good entitled Streets of Minneapolis at a concert in the city.
On Thursday, border tsar Tom Homan suggested the Trump administration could “draw down” federal forces in the state if local officials co-operate.
“We are not surrendering our mission at all. We’re just doing it smarter,” he said during a news conference.
Homan began leading on-the-ground efforts in the Minneapolis after it was announced Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino would be leaving the area.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday evening: “We will keep our country safe, we’ll do whatever we can to keep our country safe.”
About 3,000 federal agents were sent to Minnneapolis at Trump’s directive.
The DHS has said it was arresting the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens” in an effort to restore public safety in Minnesota, but critics argue migrants with clean records and US citizens are being caught up in the campaign.
Dubbed Operation Metro Surge, the immigration enforcement initiative has sparked outcry from residents in Minneapolis, St Paul and other cities in the state.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have called on federal agents to withdraw from Minneapolis.
By BBC News