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No work, no school, no shopping: 'ICE Out’ protest calls for nationwide strike across US | What we know
The protestors have listed 250 sites for Friday's protests across 46 states and in major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington.
Hundreds of protesters are set to take to the streets and protest across the United States from Friday against the recent actions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The protest comes in the wake of at least eight deaths in US in connection with the ICE agents since the start of this year, including that of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.
Student organizers in Minnesota have called for walkouts and protests across the country on Friday to demand that federal immigration agents withdraw from Minnesota.
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The call for fresh protests come after last week's protests when thousands of people marched in Minneapolis, demanding an end to President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in their city.
What to know about ‘ICE Out’ shutdown
Hundreds of protestors are set to organise demonstrations across the US on January 30 and 31, demanding the permanent removal of ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from the American towns and cities. The protests have been endorsed and supported by several rights and student groups.
On Friday, the organizers, led by student groups at the University of Minnesota, are calling for a “national shutdown”. "No work. No school. No shopping. Stop funding ICE," a slogan on the website nationalshutdown.org read.
The protestors have listed 250 sites for Friday's protests across 46 states and in major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington.
"The entire country is shocked and outraged at the brutal killings of Alex Pretti, Renee Good, Silverio Villegas González, and Keith Porter Jr. by federal agents. Every day, ICE, Border Patrol and other enforcers of Trump’s racist agenda are going into our communities to kidnap our neighbors and sow fear. It is time for us to all stand up together in a nationwide shutdown and say enough is enough!" the website read.
What are the protestors demanding?
The protestors are also calling for justice for the people detained by ICE and those killed by ICE or are in ICE custody.
On Friday, several student groups will lead walkouts in Minnesota and urging people across the country to do the same. While on Saturday, organizers will stage an “ICE Out of Everywhere National Day of Action”, which will include a variety of protests, demonstrations, and vigils, in all 50 states and Washington DC.
What has Trump said?
Amid the opposition and building protest, US President Donald Trump has claimed that he wanted to "de-escalate a little bit" and appointed a new point man in Minneapolis, border chief Tom Homan, who has said that some federal agents could be withdrawn from the city after weeks of protests against immigration raids.
However, while speaking on Pretti's killing, Trump said that he was an "agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist," on his Truth Social platform.
The recent killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis had led to an outrage and national anger over the killings. The two agents involved in Pretti's shooting have been placed on leave
A recent poll by YouGov has found that opposition to ICE has increased from earlier this month. The poll said that more Americans now feel that they would support abolishing ICE than say they would oppose eliminating the agency. A majority of American citizens said that ICE's tactics are too forceful and around half of them say they strongly disapprove of the way the agency is handling its job, according to a YouGov poll.
The opposing Democrats have drawn a red line around funding for the Department of Homeland Security, demanding it be stripped out and renegotiated to impose new constraints on immigration enforcement agencies.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman has urged more tech figures to "speak out" on Thursday against the Trump administration's "excesses" after the killings, which have had a global impact.
