Correction: The story previously misquoted Elisa Hsieh ’26 as saying her friend “[also] knows how to play bagpipes.” Her friend does not know how to play bagpipes.
Outside Springhill Suites by Marriott in downtown St. Paul, bagpipes blasted, pots and pans clanged and more than 20 protesters chanted for the withdrawal of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from the Twin Cities from 8-10 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12.
This ‘wide awake’ demonstration turned up the volume in an effort to disrupt the nightly routine at the hotel, one of several in the Twin Cities metro that Sunrise Twin Cities, a climate justice organization that is a local hub of the national Sunrise Movement, is targeting in a campaign against hotels allegedly housing ICE agents. Springhill Suites did not respond to The Mac Weekly’s request for comment.
The protest occurred in the evening following White House Border Czar Tom Homan’s announcement that Operation Metro Surge would end. The immigration enforcement operation deployed approximately 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota in December. Homan said that federal agents would begin leaving the state and gradually withdraw throughout the next week. One member of Sunrise Twin Cities, who wished to remain anonymous due to safety concerns, has doubts that agents will withdraw.
“We haven’t seen much of a quell in ICE activity lately,” the anonymous Sunrise Twin Cities member said. “There is still a lot of activity happening and still a lot of violence used. So really, nothing has changed since this announcement, and even presently, I think it was definitely set to sort of propaganda, almost. It was, ‘hey, let’s tell the people what they want to hear without giving them the proof of this actually happening.’”
At 8 p.m., the group of 15, composed of both Macalester students and Sunrise Twin Cities organizers, first convened in the parking lot behind the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center to receive a protest safety briefing from lead organizers and to distribute noisemaking supplies. From there, they drove downtown, where a group of around 10 was already staged outside Springhill Suites.
Throughout the wide awake demonstration, protestors repeated chants of “No justice, no sleep,” “F— ICE, ICE Out,” “Whose streets? Our streets” and “No hate, no fear: immigrants are welcome here.” Protestors used a variety of noisemakers to amplify their message — megaphones, slide whistles, vuvuzela and bagpipes.
“Before I went back to Mac this semester, I knew I wanted to be involved somehow,” Elisa Hsieh ’26, one of two bagpipers staged outside the hotel, said. “I play the bagpipes, which are widely known as the most annoying instrument … My friend is in Sunrise, and she heard about this noise protest, and she knows [that I know] how to play the bagpipes. So, she asked if I was interested in going, and I said, ‘Of course, I’ll go and play the bagpipes.’”
Several passersby took notice of the protest with drivers honking in support of the protestors; others who passed the hotel asked questions about the noise or ignored it. Throughout the protest, a few others from the surrounding area joined the wide awake.
“So many people gave us hand warmers and cheered us on and that was really beautiful,” Ellie Turk ’28 said. “I feel like [the] Twin Cities stick together and you can really feel that.”
Shortly after 9 p.m., two St. Paul Police Department vehicles parked in the lot across the street from Springhill Suites. After two of the officers spoke with a crowd marshal from Sunrise Twin Cities, they returned to their vehicles and remained there until the protest concluded. Protestors dispersed voluntarily at 10 p.m., in compliance with St. Paul’s city ordinance limiting noise after that time.
The anonymous Sunrise Twin Cities member explained that organizers planned to disperse at 10 p.m. in an effort to “keep everyone safe.”
Sunrise Movement has been targeting hotels in the Twin Cities area that, according to the organization, have been hosting ICE agents. These actions have consisted of submitting negative reviews en masse, calling hotel management and staging wide awake protests. On Jan. 23, Sunrise Macalester held a teach-in detailing how to organize a wide awake demonstration, among other tactics, as a part of the Twin Cities Day of Truth and Freedom.
According to Sunrise Twin Cities, wide awake protests have proven effective at getting hotels to stop housing ICE agents. Sunrise Twin Cities claimed in an Instagram post on Jan. 19 that their wide awake protests led to two hotels in St. Paul closing temporarily.
Other wide awake protests have resulted in clashes between protestors and local police departments. On Jan. 28, 60 protestors were detained by the University of Minnesota and Minneapolis Police Departments at the Graduate hotel in Minneapolis, according to the Minnesota Daily. The protestors who were detained failed to disperse after the police department had declared the gathering unlawful and had given multiple warnings prior to making arrests.
The anonymous Sunrise Twin Cities member emphasized that wide awake demonstrations do not need to result in arrests or conflict between protesters and police in order to cause disruption.
“I think a lot of times, people who see these wide awakes and … don’t quite understand what ICE is doing, and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, look at these people. They’re just being annoying. They’re causing all of these people [who] aren’t ICE at the hotel to be upset too.’ And what I’ll say about that is: that’s the point.”
Hsieh feels that, as many Minnesotans are approaching three months of limited contact with neighbors and friends due to elevated threats of detainment or deportation, anti-ICE demonstrations are essential for keeping up momentum.
“I can’t think of another way to react when a bunch of fascists come and start kidnapping people off the streets, aside from thinking it’s important that we get these guys out of here,” Hsieh said.
