Protesters took to the streets in Minneapolis on Friday, 30 January, joined by student walkouts across the United States, demanding the withdrawal of federal immigration agents after two U.S. citizens were fatally shot in the city.
The demonstrations came amid controversy over President Donald Trump’s Operation Metro Surge, which deployed 3,000 federal officers—five times the size of the Minneapolis Police Department—to patrol the streets in tactical gear.
Protesters braved sub‑freezing temperatures in downtown Minneapolis, with families, elderly residents and young activists calling for an end to the aggressive tactics of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Teachers and school staff also joined demonstrations near the sites of the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, while rock star Bruce Springsteen performed at a fundraiser for the victims, debuting his song Streets of Minneapolis.
Organisers reported around 250 nationwide protests in 46 states, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, under the slogan: “No work. No school. No shopping. Stop funding ICE.”
The federal response has drawn criticism. Acting FBI chief of the Minneapolis field office, Jarrad Smith, was reassigned to headquarters, while former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested for protesting inside a St. Paul church.
An internal ICE memo reportedly expanded agents’ authority to arrest without a warrant, prompting further backlash.
Viral videos of heavily armed ICE agents have driven approval of Trump’s immigration policy to the lowest level of his second term, according to a Reuters poll.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called for a full drawdown of federal forces, while Trump signalled only a limited de‑escalation, insisting his officers would continue operations.
Nationwide, schools from Aurora, Colorado, to Brooklyn, New York, saw walkouts and cancelled classes, as students carried signs denouncing ICE and the federal operation.
At DePaul University in Chicago, protesters declared their campus a “sanctuary” and condemned federal tactics as “fascist.”
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