cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/42101009
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/42101007
After protesters called for a pause on economic activity and work to strike against the federal immigration crackdown, many business owners won’t open their doors on Friday.
Jan. 23, 2026, 5:04 a.m. ET
No work, no shopping, no dining out. Hundreds of businesses across Minnesota are expected to close and many people are vowing to pause everyday activities on Friday as part of a general strike against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
As tensions mount and a sense of fear of detention by immigration agents permeates the state, vendors, labor unions and residents are set to participate in an economic blackout and gather at prayers and protests on what organizers called a “Day of Truth and Freedom.”
“It’s tense and emotional, and folks are hurting,” said Bishop Dwayne Royster, the executive director of Faith in Action, which is helping with the organizing effort. Minnesotans, he said, are demonstrating “deep resilience and willingness to stand together in ways I haven’t seen folks do in a very long time.”
its not about directly harming ice. its about community building between the various labor unions, neighborhood groups and small businesses. giving people in the area a way to participate who are not in a position to do so in other ways.
nobody is avoiding the small deli with an ice out sign that has to be open today. people get that weeks into this they likely cant afford to miss even a bad days worth of business. its a reminder to hotels, large grocery chains and national resturants that when ice leaves we’ll still be here and we’ll remember who was silent or even profited from the siege.