Protesters close schools and stores during a nationwide strike against
Trump's immigration policies
[January 31, 2026]
By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and HOLLY RAMER
Protesters held “no work, no school, no shopping” strikes across the
U.S. on Friday to oppose the Trump administration’s immigration
crackdown.
The demonstrations took place amid widespread outrage over the killing
Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse who was shot multiple times after
he used his cellphone to record Border Patrol officers conducting an
immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. The death heightened
scrutiny over the administration’s tactics after the Jan. 7 death of
Renee Good, who was fatally shot behind the wheel of her vehicle by a
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
“The people of the Twin Cities have shown the way for the whole country
— to stop ICE’s reign of terror, we need to SHUT IT DOWN,” said one of
the many websites and social media pages promoting actions in
communities around the United States.
Some schools in Arizona, Colorado and other states preemptively canceled
classes in anticipation of mass absences. Many other demonstrations were
planned for students and others to gather at city centers, statehouses
and churches across the country.
Protests continue in Minneapolis
Just outside Minneapolis, hundreds gathered in the frigid cold early
Friday at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, the site of regular
protests in recent weeks.
After speeches from clergy members, demonstrators marched toward the
facility’s restricted area, jeering at a line of DHS agents to “quit
your jobs” and “get out of Minnesota.” Much of the group later dispersed
after they were threatened with arrest by local law enforcement for
blocking the road.
Michelle Pasko, a retired communications worker, said she joined the
demonstration after witnessing federal agents stopping immigrants at a
bus stop near her home in Minnetonka, Minnesota, a suburb of
Minneapolis.
“They’re roaming our streets, they’re staying in hotels near our
schools,” she said. “Everyone in this country has rights, and the
federal government seems to have forgotten that. We’re here to remind
them.”
High schoolers stage walkouts and some businesses close
In Michigan, dozens of students walked out of Friday morning classes at
Groves High School in Birmingham, north of Detroit. The students braved
the zero-degree (minus 18 degrees Celsius) temperatures and walked about
a mile (1.6 kilometers) to the closest business district where a number
of morning commuters honked horns in support.
“We’re here to protest ICE and what they’re doing all over the country,
especially in Minnesota,” said Logan Albritton, a 17-year-old senior at
Groves. “It’s not right to treat our neighbors and our fellow Americans
this way.”
Abigail Daugherty, 16, organized the walkout at Collins Hill High School
in Suwanee, Georgia, on Friday.
“For years, I have felt powerless, and seeing other schools in the
county being able to do this, I wanted to do something," the sophomore
said.
Numerous businesses announced they would be closed during Friday’s
“blackout." Others said they would be staying open, but donating a
portion of their proceeds to organizations that support immigrants and
provide legal aid to those facing deportation.
Otway Restaurant and its sister Otway Bakery in New York posted on
social media that its bakery would stay open and 50% of proceeds would
go to the New York Immigration Coalition. The restaurant remained open
as well.
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People gather for a protest outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal
Building, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam
Gray)
“As a small business who already took a huge financial hit this week
due to the winter storm closures, we will remain open on Friday,”
they posted.
Maine residents revel in end of immigration enforcement surge in
state
In Maine, where Republican Sen. Susan Collins announced that ICE is
ending its surge, people gathered outside a Portland church on
Friday morning, holding signs that said “No ICE for ME,” a play on
the state’s postal code.
Grace Valenzuela, an administrator with Portland Public Schools,
decried an “enforcement system that treats our presence as suspect.”
She said ICE’s actions brought “daily trauma” to the school system.
“Schools are meant to be places of learning, safety and belonging.
ICE undermines that mission every time it destabilizes a family,”
Valenzuela said.
Portland Mayor Mark Dion, a Democrat, spoke about the importance of
speaking out in the wake of ICE’s actions in the city.
“Dissent is Democratic. Dissent is American. It’s the cornerstone of
our democracy,” Dion said.
Federal agents deploy chemical sprays at Los Angeles protest
In Los Angeles, where Trump's immigration surge first began last
June, thousands of protesters gathered in front of city hall in the
afternoon and later marched to the federal detention center. As the
demonstration stretched into the evening, federal agents began using
chemical sprays to push the crowd back.
Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters joined the protest, chanting “ICE out
of LA” in front of a line of officers in riot gear.
“What I see here at the detention center are people exercising their
constitutional rights," Waters said. “And of course, they're now
trying to tear gas everybody. It's in the air, but people are not
moving.”
Nebraska student hit by SUV flying a Trump flag
On Thursday, a student in Nebraska was hit by an SUV flying a Trump
flag at a student-led protest against the immigration crackdown.
A few students entered the street outside Fremont High School around
2 p.m. and one was hit by a vehicle that had stopped in front of the
crowd, then began moving, Fremont Public Schools said in a
statement.
Officials said the student was taken to a hospital but they didn’t
release details on the extent of the student’s injuries.
Video from the scene shot by News Channel Nebraska shows a red SUV
displaying a blue Trump 2024 flag accelerating as a student carrying
a sign walks in the direction of the vehicle. The student is knocked
onto the hood and falls onto the ground. The vehicle stops briefly
and then takes off.
___
Associated Press reporters Emilie Megnien in Atlanta, Mae Anderson
in New York, Jake Offenhartz in Minneapolis, Patrick Whittle in
Portland, Maine, Corey Williams in Detroit, Jaimie Ding in Los
Angeles, and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed to this report.
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