PRESS CONFERENCE: STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF LEADERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA JOIN CALL FOR JAN. 23 SHUTDOWN TO PROTEST RACIST ICE TERROR
WHERE: Johnston Hall- University of Minnesota, 101 Pleasant St SE, Minneapolis
WHEN: 11:30 am, Thursday, January 22, 2026
Dozens of student groups and unions at the University of Minnesota will hold a press conference at 11:30am on Thursday, January 22, 2026, to announce their participation in the January 23 statewide shutdown against racist ICE terror. Representatives from the Graduate Labor Union (UE Local 1105), the Black Student Union, AFSCME Local 3800, and many others will address the press and speak about why the university community is joining this Friday’s statewide shutdown en masse.
Over a dozen student and labor organizations have endorsed the call to shutdown on Friday and are calling on all students and faculty to walkout against ICE. The call has been endorsed by the UMN Graduate Labor Union, AFSCME UMN, Local 3800, Black Student Union, Undergraduate Student Govt, Lao Student Association, Liberian Student Association, Asian American Student Union, Feminist Student Activist Collective, BAM (Business Association of Multicultural Students), UCC (Undergrad Consulting Club), Students for Justice in Palestine, CASEA, Arab Debka Club, YDSA UMN, Students for a Democratic Society, Students for the Horn of Africa, and growing.
University groups join people from across the state and the Twin Cities who are organizing in response to the campaign of racist terror waged by the Trump administration, ICE, and DHS against the people of Minnesota.
The statewide shutdown of no work, no school, no shopping was called for by faith and union leaders from across Minnesota on January 13 in response to the murder of Renee Nicole Good and the continued wave of ICE terror in the state. Since then, the shutdown has continued to gain momentum and support from a wide variety of communities that are all demanding ICE OUT of Minnesota. Already, thousands of businesses, including hundreds at Karmel Mall and 24 Somali Mall, have declared that they will shut down this Friday, and tens of thousands of workers and students have pledged to march in the streets, rather than go to work or school.
Press Contact: David Munkvold | 515-290-3769