Cold weather fails to stop anti-ICE demonstrations in Minnesota

Demonstrators braved frigid temperatures in Minnesota’s capital on Friday (January 16) to protest the growing presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, chanting against what they described as heavy-handed federal tactics following recent violent encounters in Minneapolis.

Protesters gathered in St. Paul’s Hamline Park holding signs reading “ICE out of our communities” and “No human is illegal,” as speakers denounced the agency from the back of a pickup truck and led chants calling for justice for Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen fatally shot by an ICE agent during a traffic stop in Minneapolis eight days ago.

“What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” demonstrators shouted, while passing vehicles honked in support.

The protest came amid days of escalating tensions after President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday (January 15) to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy military forces in Minnesota, accusing state leaders of failing to control what he called “insurrectionists” targeting immigration officers.

ICE has surged nearly 3,000 armed federal officers into the Minneapolis area in recent weeks, prompting nightly protests and confrontations. Earlier on Thursday, an immigration agent shot and wounded a Venezuelan man during an attempted vehicle stop, authorities said.

-Rich Matthews, Jose Pablo Diaz/Reuters