Businesses to shut down as part of 'ICE Out of Minnesota' protest

Hundreds of businesses are expected to close on Jan. 23 as protesters brave subfreezing temperatures in Minnesota as part of a statewide protest against the Trump administration's ongoing immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities.

The protest, called "ICE Out of Minnesota," is described by organizers as an economic blackout, with participants urged to skip school, call out of work and refrain from buying anything. A march and rally is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT in downtown Minneapolis.

"It is time to suspend the normal order of business to demand immediate cessation of ICE actions in MN, accountability for federal agents who have caused loss of life and abuse to Minnesota residents and call for Congress to immediately intervene," a website for the protest states.

The National Weather Service issued an extreme cold warning for Minneapolis and much of the Twin Cities, with expected wind chills as low as 45 below zero. The frigid temperatures "could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes," meteorologists said, urging people to stay indoors.

The protest comes more than two weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, Jonathan Ross, shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, touching off a wave of demonstrations and legal battles between Minnesota state officials and the federal government.

Some 3,000 immigration agents have swarmed the Minneapolis and St. Paul region as part of the "largest immigration enforcement operation ever," according to the Department of Homeland Security. The agency says over 3,000 undocumented immigrants have been detained as part of the operation.

Student walk outs, protests and rapid response groups following and recording immigration agents have become familiar across Minnesota amid increasing backlash against immigration raids and agents' aggressive tactics.

The latest incidents stirring controversy involve immigration officers detaining four students under the age of 18 in a suburb of Minneapolis, most of them while on their way to or from school. The detained students include a 5-year-old who was apprehended with his father and a 10-year-old detained with her mother.

The Department of Homeland Security and other federal officials have broadly defended immigration agents, accusing protesters of heightening tensions and blaming state and local officials for not cooperating with federal authorities.

Vice President JD Vance on Jan. 22 visited the city to meet with federal officers, business owners and others to understand what has been going on and "lower the temperature." He called on local and state officials to assist federal agents in order to "reduce the chaos."

"The reason why things have gotten so out of hand is because of failure of cooperation between the state and local authorities and what these guys are trying to do," Vance said.

Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have both called for federal agents to leave the state, accusing them of causing unrest and using aggressive enforcement tactics.

Both officials were among several Democrats in the state subpoenaed as part of a federal probe into whether they impeded federal authorities from carrying out immigration enforcement. They deny wrongdoing and called the investigation political.

(This story was updated to add a video.)