Minnesota General Strike - January 23, 2026

Image Credit: Photo by Josh Hild on Unsplash

An extreme cold weather watch is in effect tomorrow Friday Jan 23 in the Twin Cities, where a general strike is planned. "ICE out of Minnesota: Day of Truth and Freedom" asks people not to work except for emergency services, not to shop, and not to attend school, with a march scheduled for 2 p.m. Central Time.

Organized by businesses, universities, student and community groups, unions, and faith leaders, it will be the first statewide general strike in Minnesota in nearly 100 years.

Article Round Up:

• Star Tribune: https://www.startribune.com/ice-out-statewide-shutdown-minnesota-business-school-closed-protest-economic-blackout-immigration/601567509

• Fox 9: https://www.fox9.com/news/mn-lawmakers-throw-support-behind-jan-23-general-strike

• Socialist Alternative: https://www.socialistalternative.org/2026/01/21/jan-23-strike-against-ice-what-to-expect-where-to-take-action

• Truthout: https://truthout.org/articles/with-twin-cities-under-siege-by-ice-minnesota-moves-toward-a-general-strike/

• Bring Me The News: https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-lifestyle/growing-number-of-minnesota-businesses-announce-plans-to-close-for-jan-23-strike

• In These Times: https://inthesetimes.com/article/working-people-minnesota-general-strike-trump-ice

• The American Prospect: https://prospect.org/2026/01/22/ice-trump-minnesota-minneapolis-state-general-strike/

• Twin Cities Business: https://tcbmag.com/anti-ice-protest-leads-minnesota-businesses-to-close/

• Jacobin: https://jacobin.com/2026/01/strike-ice-unions-good-minneapolis

• Left Voice: https://www.leftvoice.org/unions-mobilizing-general-strike-minneapolis-jan-23/

• Minnesota Public Radio: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/01/20/ice-enforcement-minneapolis-minnesota-latest-updates

• People’s World: https://peoplesworld.org/article/statewide-shutdown-in-minnesota-planned-for-jan-23-to-expel-ice/

• WNY Labor Today: https://www.wnylabortoday.com/news/2026/01/19/national-labor-news/ice-out-january-23rd-general-strike-brewing-in-minnesota/

More Details

Over 3,000 federal agents have been sent to Minnesota in recent weeks in the Trump administration’s largest and most violent so-called ​“immigration enforcement operation” yet. DHS has said it arrested 3,000 Minnesotans in the last six weeks.

Hundreds of small businesses are planning to close their doors, donate proceeds or both — even though many said participating would hurt their bottom line.

Mike Brown, co-owner of eight Twin Cities restaurants that make up the Travail Collective, said Friday’s shutdown will mean a loss of $100,000 that could hurt his struggling business. Joining the cause anyway was 'the hardest decision' his team has ever had to make, he said.

"This should come as no surprise to anyone who’s been following the events in Minneapolis for the last 10 years. The George Floyd uprising literally instilled in people in this city a sense of a fight for racial justice."

Elias Holtz, who organizes with the Writers Guild of America East and is a member of the group Freedom Socialist Party, said tomorrow will be instructive for future mass actions. Freedom Socialist Party is hosting a free forum on Saturday: “Build a General Strike to Stop Trump.”

“It’s really just the beginning,” Holtz said. “Now is the moment where people are looking for what they can do to stand up to Trump, to stop these attacks … that’s why the general strike is gaining traction in unions and conversations online because it’s really about that untapped power we have as workers being essential to stand up and stop the attacks on our communities.”