Americans marched in the cold -29 degrees Celsius to protest ICE

Organizers of “ICE Out!” (ICE Leave), a movement protesting the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid campaign in Minnesota, said about 50,000 people participated in the march in the capital city of Minneapolis on January 23, while a series of businesses across Minnesota also simultaneously closed.

Minneapolis police did not comment on this number, nor has any independent organization provided statistics on the number of march participants. The event took place when the outdoor temperature in Minneapolis in the morning dropped as low as -29 degrees Celsius.

The marchers demanded legal accountability for the ICE agent who shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old American citizen, in an encounter earlier this month.

Many clergy knelt, sang hymns and prayed on a street near Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. Local police asked the marchers not to obstruct the streets, but the orders were ignored. Reporter Reuters witnessed dozens of people being arrested and put on buses afterward.

Faith in Minnesota, the nonprofit advocacy group that helped organize the protest, said the clergy called attention to airport and airline workers “who were arrested by ICE while on the job.” This group asked airline companies to “stand with the people of Minnesota, calling on ICE to immediately end the surge in force in the state.”

“If it were any other time, no one would go out in weather like this. For us, this is a message of solidarity with the community, that we understand the pain and suffering happening on the streets. This is also a message to politicians, that they need to do something instead of just talking in the media,” said Miguel Hernandez, a community organizer.

Minnesota has become a major concern of the Trump administration since December 2025, when the US Department of Homeland Security launched a large-scale immigration crackdown campaign called Metro Surge. The weeks-long campaign has resulted in hundreds of arrests and sparked clashes between protesters and federal agents.

ICE agents shot two people in Minnesota, killing American citizen Renee Good and injuring Venezuelan immigrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Minnesota officials have sued the Trump administration over the above campaign, arguing that strengthening law enforcement in the state is a move that violates the constitution and has political purposes.

US Vice President JD Vance went to Minneapolis on January 22 to show support for ICE, asking local leaders and activists to reduce tensions. He also affirmed that ICE is performing the important task of “arresting people who violate immigration laws.”