Whose streets? Our streets!” and “ICE out!” echoed through Minneapolis-St. Paul as 50,000 protesters took to the streets on Friday, Jan. 23. Hundreds of Twin Cities businesses joined them, closing their doors in support of organizers’ calls for a general strike as a part of The Day of Truth and Freedom.
The protest and strike were organized in response to President Donald Trump’s violent immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities and across the state of Minnesota, following the killing of Renée Good by Jonathan Ross, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.
Temperatures reached as low as minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit as thousands of protestors marched from The Commons Park in downtown Minneapolis to Target Center, where more than half of the arena’s 20,000 seats appeared full, according to major media outlets.
Peggy Wang, a member of the Massachusetts Teachers Association and support staffer at a higher-education institution, as well as a part of the Independent Socialist Group, flew to Minneapolis from Massachusetts alongside her colleagues days prior to Friday’s protest to “stand in solidarity” with the Twin Cities. As a union member, Wang believes that strikes are the main tool of the working people to unite against federal law enforcement and said “it has been amazing to see Minneapolis fight back.”
“It’s really great to see so many community organizations, unions, [etc.], to back this call for no school, no work, no shopping…,” Wang continued. “We need things like a general strike to stop ICE and get them off our streets. They should not be here. They should not be terrorizing any of our communities.”
Macalester community members were among the thousands of protestors at The Commons, including some faculty who marched behind the “Minnesota Higher Education” banner.
Elijah Minicozzi ’28 was among a group of Macalester sophomore students attending the protest.
Minicozzi said he felt inspired by the continuous work that Macalester community members have been doing to stand up for each other during President Trump’s immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities.
“It was tough on winter break watching a lot of what was happening on the news with ICE going after anyone who wasn’t white or anyone who got in their way,” Minicozzi said. “So I felt the need to speak up, and I felt the need to unite Macalester students against ICE … that’s why we’re here.”
Xavi Wernli ’28, another student attending with his classmates, spoke about how it felt to stand among such a large crowd of other protesters.
“[There is a] need for strength in numbers, and for everyone to be here together as Americans, looking for a better future for Americans,” Wernli said.
Other Macalester students at the protest discussed their personal experiences in the cities as people of color and children of immigrants.
Edgar Reyes ’26, a child of immigrants and a United States citizen, said he now carries his passport everywhere he goes out of fear of possibly encountering federal law enforcement as a person of color.
“I shouldn’t have to fear going out to the streets, going to my f—— class,” Reyes said. “What the hell? What if I get mugged and I don’t have [my] passport?”
Zoe Pruess ’28, whose mother immigrated to the United States, shared that while her emotions consist of a mix of guilt and fear, they felt grateful to be in community with other protestors and Macalester students.
“Seeing everybody gather together, it makes me really emotional,” she said. “It just shows that people care about a common cause, and we really do have the power, even if we don’t feel like it at times.”
Pruess continued, discussing how it felt to protest alongside other Macalester community members.
“Seeing fellow Mac students here just really makes my heart swell,” Pruess said. “We can gather together at places off campus too, as well as on campus.”
Nathan, who did not provide his last name out of fear of repercussions from his employer and the government, came out to the protest to support his fellow Twin Cities residents. He’s been involved in local protests since 2020, when Minnesotans rose against the murder of George Floyd, but he noted that this one was different than any other before.
“This is different, this is the federal government coming for us,” Nathan said. “We’re not just making a moral point, we are standing for the constitution …and we can all do it together.”
To Nathan, the ideal outcome of the strike would be the federal law enforcement leaving Minnesota, but he felt that it would be enough if large media outlets expanded their coverage of the political situation.
“This can show the rest of the country that we are standing up,” Nathan said. “And they can too.”
