For the second Friday in a row, more than 50,000 people took to the streets of Minneapolis in below-freezing temperatures to say “ICE OUT!” [la polícía antiinmigrantes de Trump]. The massive march downtown signaled that the movement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul is not losing momentum.
Behind the march, however, was something deeper: every corner of the Twin Cities is moved by people’s determination to defend their immigrant neighbors. This is reflected in the anti-ICE signs in the windows of small businesses in Somali neighborhoods and on large homes in some of the wealthiest areas of St. Paul. It is in the stories that people tell about how they, their friends and family organize to make life easier for immigrants, who are afraid to leave their homes for fear of being detained by ICE agents. And it is on the corners where community members form in pairs to observe ICE activity, film it and blow their whistles to warn that agents are in the neighborhood.
It is truly impossible to convey the depth of creativity and solidarity that manifests itself in the daily lives of Minnesotans, but I will try to do the best I can.
The day began at the Whipple Building, the citywide operations center for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “RIP ALEX” had been painted on a concrete block on the corner where the demonstration was taking place. Many more tributes would be paid to Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good throughout the day.
I’m in Minneapolis this weekend reporting for @leftvoice.bsky.social. Just arrived at the Whipple Federal Building where the community is kicking off the day of protests. Watch this space for updates.
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— Sam Carliner (@saminthecan.bsky.social) January 30, 2026, 11:08
The crowd gathered spanned different generations. Scattered around were tables with snacks, hot drinks, and hand warmers. One of the many speakers shared that she was the mother of a second grade student. He described how parents and teachers have coordinated to protect immigrant students. All speakers emphasized that Minnesota is a state where people take care of their neighbors.
After a brief march, the crowd began to disperse. Then, people saw two cars with masked federal agents heading toward the Whipple Building. The hatred of ICE was palpable in the boos, insults, and “FUCK YOU” directed at the agents.
Two ICE vehicles showed up and the crowd let them know they want them out.
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— Sam Carliner (@saminthecan.bsky.social) January 30, 2026, 12:09
From there, we got on the tram. When the guard came to ask for proof of payment, most did not have any. The guard let them continue their journey with smiles and greetings.
Our team of reporters got off the tram in a Somali neighborhood. We warmed up in a cafe run by a wonderful woman who said her name means “flower.” He offered us some much-needed chai lattes, fluffy bread and other hot Somali dishes. She had citizenship herself, but as she explained how her community lives in fear of ICE, you could hear in her voice the shadow the agency casts over what would otherwise be a vibrant community. When we told him we were reporters who had traveled from New York and New Jersey to cover the movement, he showed us an office in the back of the cafe, inviting us to use it at any time during our trip if we needed a place to work.
We left and walked down an avenue of small businesses. All were closed in support of the protests and the stoppage of the day’s activities. There were signs in the windows indicating that ICE agents were not allowed in and would not be served, even outside of work. The neighborhood was also decorated with signs reading “MNPLS loves Somali neighbors.”
In this neighborhood, we also began to become familiar with ICE surveillance networks throughout the city. There were people in yellow vests on every corner, keeping a close eye on any federal criminals willing to kidnap members of the community. At one point, a motorcyclist in a yellow vest zoomed by, no doubt also on the lookout.
From there, we were taken to a Target supermarket where there was a picket organized by Socialist Alternative and supported by other left-wing activists, including unionists and members of DSA and PSL. The picket was aimed at denouncing Target’s huge donations to Trump and his silence on ICE, even after the agency kidnapped two teenage Target employees. Almost no one dared cross the picket line; the store was almost empty.
HAPPENING NOW: Activists are picketing outside Target, which has become a target of the movement due to the company’s large donations to Trump. The company has also kept silent against ICE even after the agency arrested 2 teenage employees.
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— Sam Carliner (@saminthecan.bsky.social) January 30, 2026, 2:42 p.m.
We then attended a press conference where tenants’ rights activists were demanding a moratorium on evictions. They explained that one of the best defenses that immigrants have against ICE is the security of their own homes, which further aggravates the already inhumane and dangerous practice of evictions.
In another expression of how seemingly everyone in the city is being touched by the immigrant rights movement, every time we took an Uber to the next action, our drivers gave us a warm welcome and sent us off with genuine expressions of “stay safe!”
After all this, we attended the march. The small expressions of solidarity, rage, and revolutionary optimism that we found throughout the city throughout the day culminated in an explosion of determination to continue strengthening the fight against ICE.
I saw hatred toward the agency on the faces of countless people you would never imagine would harbor such feelings. Entire families, baby boomers, activists wrapped in kufiyas or waving Mexican flags, teachers wearing blue hats with their union logo, and people from all walks of life filled the air with chants of “ICE OUT!”, “FUCK ICE!”, “STRIKE, STRIKE, STRIKE!”, “STOP IT!” and “WHO’S STREETS? THE STREETS ARE OURS!”
The crowd was endless. Everywhere you looked, there were signs saying “Take down ICE” and calling for the removal of Trump and Kristi Noem (the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security). Equally prominent were signs honoring Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, and demanding the return of Liam Ramos, the five-year-old boy kidnapped by ICE along with his father and sent to a detention center in Texas. People played drums, blasted hip hop, and handed out hand warmers, homemade empanadas, and pizza boxes donated by local restaurants.
It is worth reiterating that the temperature was brutal. But none of that took away his energy. The people marched in an inexhaustible river of collective strength for more than an hour, without stopping. It’s one thing to watch the videos, it’s another thing to be there and know that in that crowd there were countless people with stories to tell: grocery shopping for immigrant neighbors, group chats to coordinate ICE surveillance patrols, networks to accompany people to work and school, and an unimaginable amount of creativity and initiative to protect each other.
It seems that Trump is beginning to understand that he overstepped his bounds in the Twin Cities. He is now coordinating with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to ease the tension; that is, to get activists, neighbors and protesters off the streets before their activity gets out of control for both Democrats and Republicans. To this end, to contain the movement, many of the union and NGO bureaucracies that expressed their solidarity with the economic blackout of January 23 chose not to give importance to this Friday’s mobilization.
And yet, people came out expressing their determination to continue the fight until ICE disappears from everywhere.
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
