Faith leaders, labor unions, and community groups in Minnesota have banded together to call for a state-wide general strike today to protest the “ICE campaign of terror." It's kind of a big deal. by Conor Kelley In the past two mo nths, President Donald Trump has deployed over 2,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to occupy the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul for Operation Metro Surge, described by the Department of Homeland Security as “the largest immigration enforcement operation ever carried out.” It has looked more like an armed invasion. ICE agents deployed to the area have thus far arrested 3,000 (including protesters), assaulted and pepper sprayed many, and killed two people: Renee Good, 37, shot three times in the face by ICE agent Jonathan Ross; and Victor Manuel Diaz, 36, who died by “presumed suicide” in an ICE tent in Texas eight days after being detained in Minneapolis.  The local resistance to this attack has been extensive. On social media, there are countless videos of people in Minneapolis doing everything in their power to make ICE’s job miserable. By day, they’re tailing ICE agents on foot and in cars, blaring their plastic whistles and car horns to alert the neighborhood. They’re throwing water balloons full of urine at the officers, and pouring quickly-freezing water in their paths so they slip and fall. At night, they’re posted up outside hotels where ICE agents are staying chanting and playing drum sets. But today, they’ve been asked to seize an economic weapon. Faith leaders, labor unions, and community groups in Minnesota have banded together to call for a state-wide general strike today, January 23, 2026. To protest the “ICE campaign of terror,” Minnesotans are being asked not to work, buy anything, or go to school, in the hope that it will pressure the federal government to end this siege and compel legislators to vote against additional funding in the upcoming congressional budget. This “Day of Truth and Freedom” is the first general strike in the U.S. in 80 years, the first in Minnesota in over 90, and only the 13th general strike in the history of this country. It serves as a reminder that human labor fuels the American machine, and workers can halt it at will. But simply put, the will has not been strong enough for the better part of a century.  The Twin Cities’ last general strike was in 1934. Frustrated by employers’ refusal to recognize their union and grant much-needed wage increases during The Great Depression, Teamsters truckers organized with other unions as well as non-union and unemployed workers across the Cities to come together for a series of cities-wide strikes that started in May of 1934 and continued deep into the summer. At its conclusion on August 21, Teamsters Local 574 had won recognition for their union and prevailed on most of their major contract demands. Their efforts flipped the public’s perception of unions in the area, turning a staunchly anti-union area into a model for worker’s progress to the rest of the nation. But the human cost was steep. Two strikers and two deputized civilians had been killed, and reports claimed at least 67 strikers had been injured by police. Afterwards, general strikes in the US ceased for over a decade. Then, coming out of World War II in 1946, a fresh wave of general strikes took place across the country as workers demanded their wages keep pace with the rising cost of goods. 4.5 million workers picketed throughout the year from Stamford, CT, to Oakland, CA. However, 1946 marked the last year of general strikes in the U.S., making today’s collective action something our country hasn’t seen in decades — but here we are. At the time of publication, hundreds of businesses across the state of Minnesota have agreed to shut down for the day in solidarity, with counts ranging from nearly 500 to over 700. Small businesses comprise over 99% of Minnesota’s businesses, making the state uniquely positioned for an economic shutdown. Businesses participating include restaurants, bars, bookstores, museums, and other community gathering places. In addition, some businesses are remaining open but offering their support by donating to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota and other allied organizations, and providing food and hot beverages for the protestors. They’ll need the support: forecasts say at the hub of the protests, the Twin Cities, this will be the coldest weekend of the winter, with lows reaching negative 20 degrees. The National Weather Service warns weather this cold can “cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.” All eyes are on Minnesota today, as millions of us watching make our own private calculations for how far we’ll go to protect our cities. Or how we’ll live with ourselves in what’s left of them. ...read more read less