Protesters across the United States shut down schools, businesses and shopping on Friday as part of a nationwide “no work, no school, no shopping” strike to oppose the Trump administration’s stepped-up immigration enforcement.
The coordinated actions came amid growing anger over the killing of Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse who was shot multiple times after using his cellphone to record Border Patrol officers during an immigration operation in Minneapolis. The incident followed the Jan 7 death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer while sitting in her vehicle, further intensifying scrutiny of federal tactics.
Promoters of the protests urged communities to disrupt daily life to draw attention to immigration enforcement. “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,” read messages circulated on protest websites and social media.
Anticipating large absences, some schools in states including Arizona and Colorado cancelled classes in advance. Elsewhere, students and community members gathered at city centres, state capitols and churches.
In the Minneapolis area, hundreds of demonstrators assembled early Friday in freezing temperatures outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, a frequent site of protests in recent weeks. After speeches by clergy members, the crowd marched toward restricted areas, shouting at Department of Homeland Security agents to “quit your jobs” and “get out of Minnesota.” Many later dispersed after police warned of arrests for blocking roads.
Michelle Pasko, a retired communications worker, said she joined the protest after seeing federal agents stop immigrants near a bus stop in her Minnetonka neighbourhood. “They’re roaming our streets, they’re staying in hotels near our schools,” she said. “Everyone in this country has rights, and the federal government seems to have forgotten that. We’re here to remind them.”
Student-led walkouts were reported in several states. In Michigan, dozens of students left classes at Groves High School in Birmingham, north of Detroit, and marched about a mile to a nearby business district despite sub-zero temperatures. Passing motorists honked in support.
“We’re here to protest ICE and what they’re doing all over the country, especially in Minnesota,” said 17-year-old senior Logan Albritton. “It’s not right to treat our neighbours and our fellow Americans this way.”
In Georgia, 16-year-old Abigail Daugherty organised a walkout at Collins Hill High School in Suwanee. “For years, I have felt powerless, and seeing other schools in the county being able to do this, I wanted to do something,” she said.
Many businesses announced closures as part of the day-long “blackout,” while others said they would remain open but donate proceeds to immigrant support and legal aid organisations. In New York, Otway Restaurant and its sister bakery said the bakery would stay open and donate 50 percent of proceeds to the New York Immigration Coalition.
In Maine, where Republican Senator Susan Collins said ICE was ending an enforcement surge, residents gathered outside a Portland church holding signs reading “No ICE for ME.” Grace Valenzuela, an administrator with Portland Public Schools, criticised what she called an enforcement system that brings “daily trauma” to schools. “Schools are meant to be places of learning, safety and belonging. ICE undermines that mission every time it destabilises a family,” she said.
Portland Mayor Mark Dion also addressed the crowd, stressing the importance of protest. “Dissent is Democratic. Dissent is American. It’s the cornerstone of our democracy,” he said.
In Los Angeles, where the immigration surge first intensified last June, thousands rallied outside city hall before marching to a federal detention centre. As evening fell, federal agents used chemical sprays to push back the crowd. Democratic Representative Maxine Waters joined the protest, chanting “ICE out of LA.”
“What I see here at the detention center are people exercising their constitutional rights,” Waters said. “And of course, they’re now trying to tear gas everybody. It’s in the air, but people are not moving.”
Meanwhile, authorities in Nebraska said a student was struck by an SUV displaying a Trump flag during a student-led protest on Thursday outside Fremont High School. The student was taken to hospital, though officials did not disclose the extent of the injuries.
Video footage showed a red SUV with a Trump 2024 flag accelerating toward a student holding a sign, knocking the student onto the hood before driving away.