Many local Montana businesses closed or adjusted their operations Friday as part of a loosely organized national protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  The protests are part of a “no work, no school, no shopping” strike that activists pushed for nationally in order to pr essure ICE over aggressive tactics it and other federal agencies have used in Minneapolis and elsewhere since President Donald Trump took office for his second term last year. Protesting businesses were concentrated in Missoula, Helena, Livingston and Bozeman, according to social media posts reviewed by Montana Free Press, with fewer participants in Billings, Great Falls, Kalispell and smaller Montana communities.  “We are stepping away from business as usual to stand with those who are being harmed by systems rooted in fear, racism, and violence,” Noteworthy Paper and Press, a Missoula stationary store, wrote on Facebook. “We’re choosing solidarity over sales, care over convenience, and people over profit.” More than two dozen Missoula businesses were named as participating in the strike in a document circulated on social media, including many within the downtown area. About 18 of those were listed as “closed in solidarity,” with others open to the public but not conducting business or open for business while pledging a portion of their proceeds to related charities. Clyde Coffee, which operates a location at the Missoula Public Library and another on Higgins Ave., posted on Facebook that it would participate in the strike by halting sales Friday while leaving its spaces open as a community gathering space. In Great Falls, Hi-Line Climbing Center announced it would be closed.  “We support the people of Minnesota in their quest for fair and equitable governance,” the business wrote online.  In Livingston, Creative Reuse Montana, a second-hand craft store, said on Facebook that it would open its space for a pay-what-you-can-donation session on Friday. “We believe in the power of community resources and collective creativity,” the business wrote. “Call your senators. Call your representatives.” Bozeman’s Country Bookshelf said on Facebook it will remain open “with no expectation of sales.”  “If you need a welcoming space to sit, read, make signs, write to your senators, or simply connect, we will be here with free coffee and donuts (while supplies last) and community (unending supply),” the business wrote online. The store plans to donate 10% of Friday sales to the National Immigration Project. Customers wait in a line going out the door at Montago Coffee Co. on Jan. 30, 2026. Instead of closing their doors to support a nationwide strike, they announced they would be open for business on Friday, but that all proceeds will go to the legal fund of Roberto Orozco-Ramirez. Credit: Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America In Helena, downtown coffee shop Montago Coffee Co. announced it would be open for business on Friday, but that all proceeds will go to the legal fund of Roberto Orozco-Ramirez, a Mexican citizen and diesel repair shop owner arrested in northeast Montana’s Froid earlier this month.  “We really struggled with the decision in how we should support the national ICE OUT protests that feels right to us and have decided to keep our doors open to the community,” Montago said in its post. “We love having a safe space for community discourse and want to provide that to those who want it.” The post Montana businesses close, shift operations to participate in national strike over ICE activities appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less