Supporters look on from the skyway as protesters march down Hennepin Avenue Friday afternoon in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s presence in Minneapolis. The demonstration was the second large-scale march in the Twin Cities. (Miles Schiffer/The Crest) 
Thousands of people endured single-digit temperatures in the first major protest since Alex Pretti was killed by Border Patrol on Jan. 24. (Adam Mueller/The Crest) 
Friday’s crowd spilled out of Government Plaza and up the steps of the Hennepin County Government Center and Minneapolis City Hall. (Kevin Lynch/The Crest) 
Three college students, not originally from the Twin Cities, told The Crest they felt the urge to protest in support of the city’s immigrant community. (Kevin Lynch/The Crest)
Students were among the thousands who protested in downtown Minneapolis Friday against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s presence in the city over the past months.
The protest officially began at 2 p.m. in Government Plaza before snaking northwest through the streets. Chants and signs decried ICE actions in Minnesota and criticized President Trump as protesters stuck through wind chill temperatures below zero degrees. University of St. Thomas senior Morgan Whiting said she attended both protests and that Friday’s turnout seemed lower.
“I think last Friday there was a big sense of hope built,” Whiting said. “Then Saturday, with the killing of Alex Pretti, I don’t know if that scared people any more, but I do think it’s moving to still see this many people show up in spite of things that we could let us keep us away from here.”
The Justice Department announced Friday that it had opened a federal civil rights probe into Pretti’s death after he was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents, according to the Associated Press.
Whiting, who is also the president of St. Thomas Students for Justice and Peace, cited a strong history of student involvement at important protests throughout history as one of her reasons for protesting.
“Even at St. Thomas, if you look into like, early 2000s, a lot of anti-war stuff, Students for Justice and Peace had a big role to play in that,” Whiting said. “And so our organization specifically, this is kind of part of what we do.”
University of Minnesota sophomore Mia Karowski, who is not originally from Minneapolis, said that the sense of community at the protest felt like it brought the city together.
“I think we’re just at an age where we’re finally allowed to decide what we think is right and wrong and this is one of them,” Kurowski said. “We go to a school that is just filled with a bunch of diversity and people with different stories, and being around that really shows that you need to speak up for people who can’t.”
U of M first-year student Shane McCallister also attended Friday’s protest. Originally from Wisconsin, he wiped back tears reacting to the deaths of Pretti and Renee Good in the city surrounding his school.
Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot by ICE agents in her car on Jan. 7, prompting a widespread community response that led in part to the Jan. 23 protest.
“To go after this community, it’s just horrible,” McCallister said. “I mean, the people here are the kindest you’d ever meet, so it’s really disheartening when something like this is happening.”
Whiting found the same communal feeling in her role with SJP when she came to the Twin Cities from South Dakota.
“We talk about the importance of community, the importance of mutual aid and taking care of each other,” Whiting said.
The crowd grew quickly, spilling across the street and onto the steps of Minneapolis City Hall. At the same time, a smaller group gathered in front of the Diana E. Murphy U.S. Courthouse to protest federal actions, including the shootings of Pretti and Good as well as the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and UST alumnus Georgia Fort.
ICE’s presence in Minnesota is a part of Operation Metro Surge which has resulted in the arrest of more than 3,000 people, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
“This isn’t how the U.S. is supposed to be,” Kurowski said. “Everyone is welcome here. This is built off of immigrants.”
Whiting said that across the river at St. Thomas, she hopes the university will be honest about the potential for ICE presence on campus and that students will support one another, particularly international and undocumented students.
“It’s important that students and young people are part of this,” Whiting said. “Because the reality is this is our country, and we might not always feel the most represented by our politicians because of age gaps or whatever it may be, but this is an easy way to get your voice out there.”
Adam Mueller can be reached at muel7541@stthomas.edu.
Miles Schiffer can be reached at schi9629@stthomas.edu.
Kevin Lynch can be reached at lync1832@st.thomas.edu.
