Protesters across the U.S. are calling for “no work, no school, no shopping” as part of a nationwide strike on Friday to oppose the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
The demonstrations come almost a week after Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was shot multiple times as he used his cellphone to record Border Patrol officers conducting an immigration enforcement operation. The death only reignited scrutiny over the administration’s tactics after the Jan. 7 death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot behind the wheel of her vehicle by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
“The people of the Twin Cities have shown the way for the whole country – to stop ICE’s reign of terror, we need to SHUT IT DOWN,” some of the organizers wrote on their website.
Multiple businesses announced they would be closed during Friday's “blackout,” and some schools preemptively canceled classes in anticipation of mass absences. Some students are planning walkouts, while others plan to gather in churches, courthouses and city centers in solidarity.
