Minneapolis, US – Hundreds of people rallied at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International airport in the US state of Minnesota on Friday to protest flights carrying immigrants detained by federal immigration enforcement.
Authorities said about 100 clergy members and dozens of other protesters were arrested outside the airport’s main terminal for overstepping their protest permit and disrupting airline operations.
The clergy were given misdemeanour citations for trespassing and failing to comply with officers before being released, according to an airport spokesperson.
The rally was one of many held in Minnesota, as organisers from various groups, including labour unions and religious groups, called on people to protest against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the state.
Business owners shut doors
Organisers say that more than 700 businesses across the state closed for the day in solidarity with the protests.
Flyers bearing slogans of ‘ICE OUT!’ have been posted on business doors, referring to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
The protests took place amid temperatures as low as -21 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill of -40 (-29 degrees Celsius with a wind chill of -40 degrees Celsius).
States across the US have declared a state of emergency because of the severe winter storm. In parts of Minnesota and North Dakota, temperatures could plummet to as low as -45 degrees Celsius, according to the National Weather Service.
But the freezing weather didn’t deter thousands of people from taking to the streets of downtown Minneapolis.
Reverend Elizabeth Barish Browne, who came to Minneapolis from Wyoming to take part in the protest, told the AP news agency that the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown ‘is clearly immoral’.
“It’s definitely chilly, but the kind of ice that’s dangerous to us is not the weather,” Browne said.
Why people protest in Minnesota?
There have been daily protests in the adjacent cities of Minneapolis and St Paul since the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer on January 7.
The killing has sparked a domestic debate over the use of force by ICE agents, while questions have also been asked about the level of training.
Tuesday’s detention by ICE agents of a five-year-old boy along with his father outside their home in Minneapolis has also caused outrage in the US.
The boy was taken by agents after returning from preschool and is being held in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas.
Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino looked to shift the focus from the detention of the child and has attacked media outlets for what he sees as inadequate coverage of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
Vice President J D Vance confirmed the child was among those detained, but argued that agents were protecting him after his father ‘ran’ from officers.
“What are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a 5-year-old child freeze to death?” Vance said.
DW
