US citizens launched a national strike on January 30 to protest the escalating impunity and fascism of agents from the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Patrol, and others. The protest dubbed “National Shutdown: No Work. No School. No Shopping. Stop Funding ICE” called for the closure of schools and the suspension of commercial activity as a way to condemn the continuing violence. The strike also aimed to pressure the federal government to pull ICE agents out of the cities and cut the agency’s funding.
The strike spread across all 50 states and Washington DC. The largest mobilizations were held in Minnesota, California, Washington, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, and New York. Protesters gathered at ICE offices, airports, and government buildings. Defying sub-zero temperatures (-20°C), thousands of US residents poured into the streets to protest. Thousands of high school and college students from various cities walked out and held protests outside their schools. Several thousand businesses temporarily shut down and expressed solidarity with the strike.
The protest was organized by a coalition of activist groups opposing ICE operations and mass deportations under the Donald Trump regime. Among those endorsing the action were Anakbayan Hawaii, Malaya Georgia, Malaya San Diego, Anakbayan San Diego, League of Filipino Students–University of California San Diego, Defend Migrants Alliance, and Migrante USA.
The strike was launched amid intensifying violence in Minnesota, where 3,000 state agents were deployed to hunt down immigrants and sow fear among residents. ICE violence peaked when its agents killed writer Renee Goodman on January 7, and nurse Alex Pretti on January 24. Aside from these two victims, ICE agents also killed US citizen Keith Porter on January 1 in Los Angeles, and Mexican immigrant Silverio Villegas González on September 2025 in Illinois.
More than 30 people have died while detained in ICE facilities since Trump took office. Nine deaths were reported in January alone. Most of these deaths resulted from criminal neglect of detainees’ health.
Residents of Minnesota first launched a statewide strike on January 30. Around 50,000 people joined the protest, and more than 700 businesses shut down that day. About 80,000 workers from the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation joined the action.
