Minnesota Labor Leaders Call Statewide Shutdown Over ICE Crackdown

Minnesota labor unions are pushing for a complete economic shutdown across the state this Friday.

The move comes after federal immigration agents killed a Minneapolis mother during enforcement operations that have rocked the Twin Cities.

The “Day of Truth and Freedom” protest targets what organizers call an unprecedented federal crackdown. Multiple unions are backing the Friday action, including the Minneapolis Federation of Educators, St. Paul Federation of Educators, Unite Here Local 17, and transit union ATU.

Greg Nammacher, president of SEIU Local 26, announced that over 20 union members have been detained by federal agents. His union represents 8,000 workers, including janitors, security officers and window cleaners across the metro area.

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The protest stems from the January 7 death of Renee Macklin Good. The 37-year-old poet and mother of three was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross during an immigration operation in south Minneapolis.

Good was monitoring the federal agents with whistles when Ross fired through her car windshield. Becca Good, Renee’s wife, described her partner as someone “made of sunshine” who believed in showing kindness to everyone. “We had whistles,” she said in a statement. “They had guns.”

The Trump administration has labeled Good a “domestic terrorist,” though eyewitness accounts and video evidence contradict claims she tried to harm federal agents.

Faith leaders are joining the economic boycott. Auxiliary Minister JaNaé Bates Imari of St. Paul’s Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church called for Minnesotans to “leverage our economic power, our labor, our prayer for one another.”

Businesses across the Twin Cities are closing Friday in solidarity.

The federal immigration surge has created chaos across Minnesota. A U.S. citizen was detained at gunpoint in his St. Paul home without a warrant and led outside in his underwear during subfreezing temperatures.

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ChongLy “Scott” Thao said masked agents forced their way into his residence Sunday afternoon.

“I was shaking,” Thao recalled. “They didn’t show any warrant; they just broke down the door.”

A Nicaraguan man arrested by ICE in Minneapolis died in federal custody at a Texas detention facility. Victor Manuel Diaz, 36, was found unconscious at the El Paso camp on January 14.

ICE claims the death was suicide, though conflicting reports suggest an altercation with staff.

Organizers plan a march and rally in downtown Minneapolis on Friday at 2 P.M. The economic boycott calls for no work, no school and no shopping across Minnesota.

The Day of Truth and Freedom represents the largest coordinated response to federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota history.

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