Amid ICE crackdown, unions and community groups call for Minnesota shutdown on January 23
Unions and community groups gathered in front of the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota this morning to announce a day of “no work, no school, no shopping” on January 23 to oppose the ferocious assault on the state by federal immigration authorities.
“We are facing a tsunami of hate from our own federal government,” Abdikarim Khasim, a Minnesota rideshare driver, told the crowd. “We’re going to shut it down on the 23rd. We’re going to overcome this.”
JaNaé Bates Imari, representative of the church Camphor Memorial UMC, told the crowd that the joint action will be “a day when every single Minnesotan who loves this state — who loves the idea of truth and freedom — will refuse to work, shop and go to school. We are asking every single person, every family member, every teacher, every bus driver, every childcare worker, to come together, to be in community, to stand with one another.”
“What we have witnessed, what we have all gone through, is not normal,” she added. “We have seen through several videos the murder of one of our own, Renee Good. We have witnessed violence, over and over again. Families being ripped apart, loved ones being torn from their hospital beds, from their workplaces, homes. Violence is no longer a threat but a reality that surrounds us.”
Major labor unions in Minnesota are supporting the call, including Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1005, SEIU Local 26, UNITE HERE Local 17, CWA Local 7250, and St. Paul Federation of Educators Local 28 — and organizers expect this list to grow. Faith in Minnesota, a faith-based social justice organization, has also joined the call. Minnesota has a history of joint, coalitional action among community groups, worker centers and unions. [Continue reading…]
Minnesota and its two largest cities sued the Trump administration Monday to try to stop an immigration enforcement surge that led to the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by a federal officer and evoked outrage and protests across the country.
The state, joined by Minneapolis and St. Paul, said the Department of Homeland Security is violating the First Amendment and other constitutional protections. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to halt the enforcement action or limit the operation.
“This is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and it must stop,” state Attorney General Keith Ellison said at a news conference. “These poorly trained, aggressive and armed agents of the federal state have terrorized Minnesota with widespread unlawful conduct.” [Continue reading…]