{"id":730599,"date":"2026-01-30T10:16:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T10:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/730599\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T10:16:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T10:16:12","slug":"the-united-states-takes-to-the-streets-to-stand-up-to-trumps-immigration-terror-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/730599\/","title":{"rendered":"The United States takes to the streets to stand up to Trump\u2019s immigration terror | U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump\u2019s attempt to contain the backlash \u2014 including from his own supporters \u2014 from the immigration operation in Minneapolis<\/a> took shape early Thursday morning in Minnesota in the unremarkable figure of Tom Homan<\/a>. The White House\u2019s so\u2011called border czar struck a noticeably softer tone than his predecessor, Gregory Bovino, and told reporters in a flat, measured voice that federal authorities \u2014 who have deployed 3,000 agents across the Midwestern state \u2014 are working on a \u201cdrawdown.\u201d The announcement is unlikely to stop Minneapolis and other cities nationwide from taking to the streets on Friday to protest Trump\u2019s campaign of terror against migrants.<\/p>\n

The U.S. president sent his border czar to Minnesota to calm tensions and, as Homan put it on Thursday, \u201cfix\u201d the problem, which Trump himself created. That problem escalated dramatically after the fatal shooting last Saturday of a Minneapolis nurse, Alex Pretti<\/a>, by Border Patrol agents. He was the second U.S. citizen killed during the Minneapolis uprising, following the death of poet Ren\u00e9e Good<\/a> on January 7 at the hands of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.<\/p>\n

Footage of both incidents has fueled resistance in Minneapolis and in neighboring St. Paul, a metro area of 3.7 million people. The videos are also hurting Trump among voters who backed him because they supported tougher immigration enforcement \u2014 especially against undocumented offenders \u2014 but who are now recoiling at the methods being used and at the sight of fellow Americans dying on camera.<\/p>\n

\"MemorialMemorial for Alex Pretti, in Washington, this Wednesday.DPA v\u00eda Europa Press (DPA v\u00eda Europa Press)<\/p>\n

The crisis has also spilled into the Republican administration, exposing a rift between those who recognize the political cost of such heavy\u2011handed tactics and the officials most committed to Trump\u2019s hard\u2011line, anti\u2011immigration agenda \u2014 Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem<\/a> and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Both are under scrutiny, though they still enjoy the president\u2019s backing.<\/p>\n

Homan\u2019s talk of \u201cdrawdown,\u201d along with his admission that \u201ccertain improvements could and should be made\u201d in Minnesota, has angered the most hard\u2011line voices in the MAGA movement, who insist that Trump must deliver on his promise to \u201claunch the largest deportation program in history,\u201d no matter the consequences. The White House\u2019s new messaging isn\u2019t persuading the thousands of activists in Minneapolis, either, who have called a massive demonstration and a strike that this time aims to go national.<\/p>\n

The protest is being organized in response to the deaths of Good and Pretti. Flyers that began appearing across Minneapolis on Monday urge residents to stay home from work and school. They also call on people to halt their shopping as a show of opposition to the violence carried out by ICE and Border Patrol across the country \u2014 and especially in Minnesota, where a strong sense of community<\/a> and shared struggle has, in recent days, spilled beyond state lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not doing this for ourselves, or even just for the immigrants terrorized by the feds; we are rising up for the rest of the country, our goal is that this does not happen again anywhere,\u201d Minneapolis councilwoman Aisha Chughtai explained to EL PA\u00cdS on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day, ICE, Border Patrol and other enforcers of Trump\u2019s racist agenda are going into our communities to kidnap our neighbors and sow fear,\u201d said the National Shutdown platform, which is organizing Friday\u2019s actions, on its website<\/a>. \u201cIt is time for us to all stand up together in a nationwide shutdown and say enough is enough!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hundreds of groups have joined the initiative, according to organizers. Celebrities have also echoed the call on social media, where the event is spreading rapidly. Actress Hannah Einbinder wrote on Instagram<\/a>: \u201cWithholding our labor and capital is our most effective leverage. National shutdown spread the word!\u201d And actor Pedro Pascal shared a picture of Good and Pretti<\/a> on the same social network with the message: \u201cPretti Good reason for a national strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unexpected success<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to predict whether a call to action like this will take hold in a country where few demonstrations manage to bring city life to a halt. Last Friday\u2019s protest in Minneapolis did. Between 50,000 and 100,000 people \u2014 depending on the estimate \u2014 poured into the streets, and hundreds of businesses shut their doors on the eve of Pretti\u2019s death, which further inflamed public anger. The turnout surprised even the organizers, who had feared that temperatures plunging to -22\u00baF would keep people at home.<\/p>\n

\"VigiliaVigil for the murder of Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis, on January 28.Adam Bettcher (EFE)<\/p>\n

This Friday, the weather will be more favorable. At 2:00 p.m., the time the march is scheduled to begin, sunshine and a temperature of 6.8\u00baF are expected. In the morning, under even more adverse conditions, another protest is planned. It will take place at 8:00 a.m. in front of the Whipple Building, the federal facility that holds immigrants arrested before deportation, as well as protesters detained by ICE agents. The demonstration is intended to raise awareness against Attorney General Pam Bondi, who on Wednesday released the names and photos of 16 people arrested for protesting against ICE.<\/p>\n

Last Friday\u2019s demonstration was supported by numerous labor unions, whose demands included the withdrawal of federal agents from the state and to stop any additional federal funding for the agency. Many of the signs also called to \u201cabolish ICE<\/a>,\u201d an agency created after the 9\/11 attacks that has expanded dramatically over the past year, becoming the White House\u2019s enforcement arm and secret police.<\/p>\n

This Friday\u2019s protest coincides with the Senate\u2019s deadline to approve a budget bill that would increase funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees both ICE and Border Patrol. Senate Democrats, in the minority, threatened to block the broader spending package \u2014 which also includes money for other departments \u2014 unless the DHS portion was removed.<\/p>\n

On Thursday afternoon, lawmakers reached a deal<\/a> with Trump that will bring changes to ICE and Border Patrol\u2019s anti\u2011democratic protocols. Unless something derails the agreement, it will avert a partial government shutdown \u2014 a scenario that would have halted programs and frozen pay for hundreds of thousands of federal workers. It would also have marked the second shutdown in just a few months, following last fall\u2019s, the longest in U.S. history.<\/p>\n

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