Left-Wing Groups, Unions, and China-Linked Org Funding Anti-ICE Protests
A broad alliance of left-wing activist organizations, labor unions, and socialist groups is backing a planned statewide “shutdown” in Minnesota aimed at protesting federal immigration enforcement under President Donald J. Trump.
Organizers of the event — branded “ICE Out of MN: Day of Truth and Freedom” — announced earlier this month that participants would stage protests and deliberately halt normal economic activity by skipping work, school, and shopping on Friday. The coordinated action includes a march in Minneapolis alongside demonstrations across the state, according to reporting from Just the News.
Groups publicly supporting the shutdown include the national and Minnesota chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), the People’s Forum, and explicitly communist organizations such as the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the Twin Cities chapter of the Communist Party USA.
Major labor unions have also signed on, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the United Auto Workers (UAW). In addition, Just the News reported that a protest network with ties to the Chinese Communist Party is participating in the effort.
Some lawmakers have raised alarms about the coalition’s financial and organizational backing. The network has been linked to funding associated with businessman Neville Singham, who has documented ties to international activist groups. In response, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee recently voted to subpoena Singham as part of an investigation into activist networks supporting anti-ICE campaigns.
The planned demonstrations come amid heightened tensions in Minnesota following a fatal shooting earlier this month involving an ICE agent and Renee Good, as well as ongoing nationwide protests opposing federal immigration enforcement.
Details of the planned shutdown were outlined on the ICE Out Now website, which described the event as “a unified statewide pause in daily economic activity.” The site called for “no work (except emergency services),” “no school,” and “no shopping or consumer spending.” Organizers listed demands including that “ICE must leave Minnesota now,” that “the officer who killed Good must be held legally accountable,” and that there be “no additional federal funding for ICE in the upcoming budget.”
Reaction from political and community leaders has been divided. Supporters have framed the shutdown as a legitimate protest against federal immigration policy, while critics warn it could disrupt daily life, harm local businesses, and escalate tensions in affected communities.
PSL amplified the effort on social media this week, declaring on X that “today, millions of people across the country are walking out of school and work to protest the one-year anniversary of the Trump administration” and that “on Friday, January 23, the people of Minnesota will hold a historic shutdown.” The group added that “it’s not enough to be angry — we must be organized!”
“Minnesotans are clear! ICE IS NOT WELCOME HERE! Momentum is growing for the state-wide shutdown on January 23rd to demand ICE OUT!” PSL tweeted the same day. “Across the Twin Cities, people are united in opposing Trump’s racist immigration agenda and ICE’s attacks on our communities.”
The Minnesota protests coincide with other recent enforcement-related incidents nationwide. On Wednesday, a federal agent opened fire during an arrest operation in Southern California after an illegal immigrant allegedly attempted to flee by ramming law enforcement officers with his vehicle, the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News.
The incident occurred in Compton as DHS officers sought to arrest William Eduardo Moran Carballo, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador with alleged ties to a human smuggling operation, according to a DHS spokesperson. Fox News reported that Carballo has two prior arrests for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant and was subject to a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge in 2019.
During the attempted arrest, DHS said Carballo “weaponized his vehicle and rammed law enforcement” in an effort to evade custody.