Anti-immigration enforcement protest planned in Minnesota Friday despite dangerous cold

Organizers from unions, advocacy groups and faith networks planned coordinated protests and stay-away actions in Minneapolis and St. Paul on Friday to protest ICE operations, while the National Weather Service forecast extreme cold with temperatures well below zero.

Organizers representing more than 100 labour, advocacy and faith groups called for Minnesotans to stay away from work, school and stores on Friday to protest immigration enforcement. The mobilization follows days of demonstrations after the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. Federal law enforcement presence in the Twin Cities has increased, and tensions between community members and officers have been repeatedly reported. Officials and organizers noted that the planned action would take place amid a forecast of dangerously cold temperatures. Key facts: - Organizers said more than 100 groups were urging coordinated walkouts and a march in Minneapolis on Friday. - Daily protests have taken place in Minneapolis and St. Paul since the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Good, the article reported. - Federal officers have surged in the area, and a prominent civil rights attorney plus at least two others were arrested after a protest that disrupted a church service, the report said. - A downtown Minneapolis march was planned despite National Weather Service forecasts of temperatures around -20 to -30 degrees Celsius, and some businesses and schools announced closures or solidarity actions. Summary: The planned mobilization has led to business and school closures and heightened tensions between community members and federal officers. Faith leaders and organizers from other states were reported to be joining Friday's actions, which organizers described as the largest coordinated protest yet. Undetermined at this time.