Hundreds of businesses join general strike against ICE

A breakfast restaurant, a bike shop, and a brewery: these are some of the hundreds of businesses across Minnesota closing their doors Friday as part of a general strike to push Immigration and Customs Enforcement out of the state.

“There’s a time to stand up for things, and this is it,” Alison Kirwin, the owner of Al’s Breakfast in Minneapolis, told the New York Times. Kirwin is closing up shop for the day as part of the wider strike to push “ICE out of Minnesota”—the motto for the protest. “If it takes away from a day of our income,” Kirwin said, “that is worthwhile.”

The general strike, along with planned demonstrations and a march, is a part of what organizers are calling a “Day of Truth and Freedom.” The event will involve protests, prayers, and fasting—whether it be from food, work, or economic activity. The day is being organized by a coalition of clergy members and supported by many businesses, movement leaders, labor organizers, and even the entire Minneapolis City Council.