Labor unions, community leaders and faith groups are calling for an economic blackout in Minnesota on Friday in protest against the surge of federal immigration agents in the state and to mourn Renee Good.
Organizers are urging Minnesotans not to work, shop or go to school. The Trump administration has dispatched about 3,000 federal agents to the state, in what it claims amounts to its largest enforcement operation thus far, amid a broader crackdown on immigration. More than 2,400 people in Minnesota have been arrested in recent weeks. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shot Good, 37, in Minneapolis earlier this month. The CWA, which represents workers in the state at companies including AT&T, Activision and DirecTV, is one of several local unions organizing and supporting the planned economic blackout.
Large US corporations headquartered in Minnesota include Target, Best Buy, United Healthcare and General Mills. None immediately returned requests for comment. As the administration continues to send ICE agents to the Minnesota region, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey has complained in recent days that the city’s police are outmanned and outgunned.