Today is the National Shutdown, a nationwide day of no school, no work, and no shopping to protest ICE and its violence. Organized by Somali and Black college student organizations in Minneapolis after the execution-style murder of Alex Pretti and the recent murders of Renee Good, Silverio Villegas González, and Keith Porter Jr. by federal agents, the National Shutdown invites students, workers, and community members to protest in solidarity with immigrant communities and advocate for ICE out of our neighborhoods.
If you’re searching for opportunities to continue helping Minnesota communities, check out these 7 ways below:
1) Contact your senators and house representatives
Whether you call, email, or write, reaching out to your representatives makes a difference in how they support Minnesota. If you’re shy on the phone or need a little help getting started, https://5calls.org/ has scripts you can follow word for word.
2) Send a word of encouragement to Minnesota
The Stand With Minnesota site welcomes words of encouragement and messages of love to support the people of Minneapolis. If you yourself are looking for hope, you can also look through the messages from people all over the world.
3) Create art
After the murder of Alex Pettreti, Amanda Gorman—the first National Youth Poet Laureate and youngest inaugural poet in US history—wrote and shared the following poem titled “For Alex Jeffrey Pretti” to honor him:
Not only does art bear testimony to the tragedies unfolding before us, but it also honors those we’ve lost, advocates for those still fighting, and provides hope and encouragement to all who need it. So follow Amanda Gorman’s lead—write, paint, draw, crochet, knit (there’s even a “Melt the ICE” pattern in which proceeds are donated to Minneapolis organizations), take photos, and document what’s happening as you see it in whatever creative way feels right for you right now.
4) Donate to mutual aid organizations
If you have the means, donate or volunteer with the Minnesota-based organizations listed below:
- Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee is an all-volunteer grassroots movement that “fights for legalization for all, an end to immigration raids and deportations, an end to all anti-immigrant laws, and full equality in all areas of life.”
- Community Aid Network works to build solidarity with their neighbors, organize volunteers, and redistribute resources to “ensure everyone has the means for dignified survival.”
- The Women’s Foundation of Minnesota runs an Immigrant Rapid Response Fund that responds to immigration-related emergencies across Minnesota.
- The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota offers legal support to countless people detained by ICE in Minnesota.
- Beyond Beurre Blanc aka local independent food critic Kirstie Kimball assembled a list of Eat Street restaurants. These restaurants bore witness to the murder of Alex Pretti by ICE agents and are now losing business because the street is blocked off. Krisite is encouraging folks to support by purchasing the restaurants’ gift cards.
- You can also find many neighborhood and individual GoFundMes listed here.
5) Support the economic boycotts
Check out this toolkit by Stand With Minnesota for how to contact corporations in support of Minnesota and what to say/write when you do.
6) Stay educated + advocate against misinformation
Local news tends to have quicker and more accurate information as to what’s happening on the ground than national news, so try to read news about Minneapolis from Minnesota news sources, such as:
7) Keep showing up for your community
The national organization 50501 has organized a national “ICE Out of Everywhere National Day of Action” tomorrow, encouraging each state to host demonstrations of protest outside of detention centers, ICE field offices, airlines that work with the agency, and congressional offices. 50501 also plans on holding another nationwide event on February 17, and No Kings marches are planned in March. Please only protest or observe if you feel safe doing so, and remember that you are never alone in advocating for a kinder, braver, just, and free world.
