MINNEAPOLIS—With thousands of supporters behind them, roughly 100 faith leaders sang, “Before this campaign fails, we’ll all go down to jail — everybody’s got a right to live,” as they blocked a key road to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport.
It was an act of civil disobedience against federal immigration agents outside the busy Terminal 1 drop-off. Some of the faith leaders held signs showing photos of abducted members of Unite Here Local 17, which represents food service workers at the airport.
It was late morning on January 23, and the crowd — including striking workers and union members, some of whom work at the airport — stayed outside in subzero temperatures to cheer on the faith leaders. Supporters passed around hand warmers and snacks to help sustain the crowd.
The clergy made good on their vow to “go down to jail.” They were each arrested, one by one, kneeling in prayer. The crowd chanted, “We love you,” as they were taken away.
The civil disobedience was part of “A Day of Truth and Freedom,” an economic shutdown led by unions, faith organizations and community groups. Under the banner of “no work, no school, no shopping,” organizers called on Minnesotans to “suspend the normal order of business” to protest the Trump administration’s unprecedented deployment of thousands of masked, armed federal agents.
For weeks, federal agents have been stalking and abducting people at schools, daycare centers and homes — and unleashing violence on people trying to protect their neighbors.
The response was overwhelming. About three hours after the clergy were arrested, tens of thousands of Minnesotans — chanting, “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here” — marched through downtown Minneapolis to demand ICE leave the state. (Organizers’ crowd estimates range from 50,000 to 100,000.)
The big turnout was remarkable in part because the temperature was minus 9 degrees when the march began, which can quickly cause frostbite to exposed skin.
“Oh my God, today is amazing, overwhelming, and very powerful,” said Feben Ghilagaber, an airport food service worker and steward for Unite Here Local 17. “It was bigger than I was expecting, much bigger. I was kind of worried about the weather, but everybody showed up.”
According to Ghilagaber, “a lot” of airport workers in her union didn’t go to work to support the shutdown, with many of them calling in sick.
Organizers say that 1,000 local businesses closed as part of the day of economic shutdown, some of them because of worker pressure. It is too early to assess how many workers went on strike, but workers and unions were central to the day’s events. A commercial electrician and member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 292, who was holding a sign reading “General Strike is a Path to Justice,” told me during the march that he was “out here to support immigrant rights, support every American.”
Another Minnesotan, who requested anonymity to protect her from retaliation by ICE, said, “I’m here today to stand up for everyone, stand up for myself. I am impacted. I came here when I was 2 years old. My parents brought me here from Mexico. All I know is America, so seeing everything that’s going on — seeing my family ripped apart, seeing kids being snatched, an innocent woman shot for standing up for what’s right — it’s all surreal.”
For the throngs of those participating in the shutdown that Friday, the stakes were not academic. Service Employees International Union Local 26, which represents more than 8,000 of the state’s janitors, window cleaners and other property service workers, has “lost over 20 members to these abductions by federal agents, often without warning, often without due process,” said Greg Nammacher, union president, at a January 19 press conference.
Solidarity actions took place across the country on January 23, from Massachusetts to New York to Chicago. Some labor and community leaders also traveled to Minnesota for the shutdown, including members of the group Rabbis for Ceasefire, who joined with her clergy, and Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union.
“I’m sick of wiping tears, I’m sick of hugging people, I’m sick of saying I’m sorry,” Gates said. “Today, we saw people who are sick of doing the same thing. I think it was glorious, and I think everyone is going to have to do that — and at the same time.”
The morning after, protesters were confronted with a terrible reality: Immigration agents executed ICU nurse Alex Pretti while he was observing agents and trying to protect a fellow observer. Agents fired 10 shots in five seconds, killing Pretti while he was pinned to the ground.
“We saw the very next day that there’s still a lot of work left to do,” said Sheigh Freeberg, secretary-treasurer of Unite Here Local 17. Organizers are still demanding federal agents leave Minnesota, that officers who kill civilians face legal accountability, that “Trump’s ICE” be shut down, and that corporations stop their complicity with ICE. The events of January 23 give organizers a palpable sense of solidarity for the fight ahead, Freeberg said.
Katrina Zabriskie, 22, described t his solidarit y t he mor ning of January 23, shortly after watching her mother, a Minnesota-based chaplain, get taken away by police. “It was really emotional,” she told me. “When the crowd started chanting, ‘We love you,’ I started to cry.
“Mostly, I’m just really proud.”
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She tweets at @sarahlazare.
