Hundreds of protests and a national strike are taking place on 30 and 31 January across the United States, organised by grassroots groups demanding the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The actions follow the deaths of at least eight people in connection with ICE since the start of the year, including the high-profile killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
On Friday, student groups led by the University of Minnesota called for a 'national shutdown', urging people to refrain from work, school, and shopping to 'stop funding ICE'. Organisers described the effort as a 'general strike' aimed at disrupting the economy. Saturday's protests, coordinated by the national group 50501, involve demonstrations, vigils, and rallies in all 50 states and Washington DC, under the banner 'ICE Out of Everywhere National Day of Action'.
The protests demand justice for those detained or killed by ICE, including cases such as 55-year-old Cuban immigrant Geraldo Lunas Campos, who died in ICE custody in El Paso on 3 January, and the detention of five-year-old Liam Ramos in Minnesota. Organisers also highlighted the ICE shooting of Keith Porter Jr in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve. Polling from YouGov shows growing opposition to ICE, with more Americans now supporting its abolition than earlier this month.
Gloriann Sahay, a national coordinator with 50501, said: 'We are responding to people’s outrage. We’ve seen the Overton window shifting. We’re seeing people from typically non-political spectrums get involved and say: “This doesn’t feel like America.”' The actions build on a mass mobilization in Minneapolis on 23 January, where thousands protested a local immigration enforcement surge.
Celebrities including Ariana Grande and Pedro Pascal have expressed support on social media. Organisers are also targeting Democratic lawmakers who voted to fund the Department of Homeland Security or expand ICE's authority, naming representatives Henry Cuellar, Vicente Gonzalez, Don Davis, Laura Gillen, Tom Suozzi, Jared Golden, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. They call on Congress to block DHS funding until ICE is dismantled and to end federal cooperation with local law enforcement on immigration.
