On January 23, members of UE Local 1105 braved temperatures of 20 degrees below zero to march alongside fellow workers for the “ICE OUT January 23rd Day of Truth and Freedom.” This day of action, which was organized by a coalition of labor unions, faith leaders, and immigrant rights organizations, was a historic demonstration of solidarity. Not only did 75,000 people join in the march and rally on 1/23, but over 700 local businesses closed for the day to stand in solidarity with the action’s demands. 

The day of action had four key demands:

1. ICE must leave Minnesota now.
2. Any officer who kills a civilian must be held legally accountable. That starts with legitimate investigations and charges by local officials. 
3. Shut down Trump’s ICE. No additional federal funding for ICE in the upcoming Congressional budget and ICE should be investigated for human and Constitutional violations of Americans and our neighbors.
4. We call upon all corporations to become 4th Amendment businesses, cease economic relations with ICE and refuse ICE entry or using their property for staging grounds, and lobby congress to freeze funding for ICE/DHS.  

Local 1105’s Executive Board endorsed the day of action within a few days of the launch. Since the majority of graduate workers represented by Local 1105 work 20 hours a week or less, the Executive Board engaged members to utilize “flex time,” or flexible working hours enshrined in the CBA, to frontload their work week in order to take the day off on Friday the 23. The organizing did not stop there. As the 1/23 day of action drew near, it became clear that the University of Minnesota (UMN) had no plans to make any material changes to protect their workers from the threat of ICE’s violence, despite the murder of Renee Nicole Good on January 7. So, five days before the day of action, Local 1105 put together a petition demanding that UMN close its campuses on January 23 so workers and students could observe the day of action. This petition received endorsements from over 20 campus unions and student organizations. 

On January 21, the local announced a press conference featuring statements from campus union presidents, presidents of student organizations, and faculty members. Two hours before the press conference was set to take place, the University sent out an email that they would be closing on January 23 due to “extreme cold.” While the cold weather provided an easy way out for UMN, the local suspects that the solidarity of the campus community had something to do with it. 

The day before the action, Local 1105 held their first general membership meeting of 2026. Not only did this meeting have record attendance, but members voted to endorse the 1/23 day of action in addition to the executive board endorsement, along with a series of demands to UMN for protecting students and workers against ICE’s terror.

On the day of the march, members of Local 1105 congregated at three different locations depending on their campus in order to take public transportation to the march site. It was historically cold on January 23 and members were bundled up to such a degree that they had trouble recognizing each other. The local coordinated the delivery of hand warmers to all who needed them and many other workers brought supplies to support each other in the cold. When the trains arrived, they were packed so full that they could not take more passengers. Many of the members decided to walk all the way to the march location while others waited for five or six trains to pass through before there was space to get on. 

The march was a massive success and culminated in a rally at Target Center with an impromptu dance party outside, where supportive community members passed out tea and sambusas (deep fried pastries). On this Day of Truth and Freedom, Minnesota came together for one simple demand: ICE must leave Minnesota.

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While the actions of federal agents in Minnesota have been brutal and deadly — including, on the morning after the Day of Truth and Freedom, the murder of Alex Pretti by CBP agents in South Minneapolis — the ordinary residents of this state have demonstrated remarkable solidarity and vigor in our opposition to the Trump regime. Members of Local 1105 are organized and prepared to keep up the pressure on the university and hold it accountable for protecting all of its students, faculty, and workers. We are currently organizing to pressure UMN to meet the following demands to keep students and workers safe: 

1. Issuing an official statement explicitly declaring that ICE is not welcome on campus and affirming the university administration’s commitment to keeping the campus community safe;
2. Temporarily suspending public building access and requiring all-hours UCard tap access for all University buildings throughout the duration of Operation Metro Surge;
3. Posting clearly visible signage at the entrances of all university buildings which explicitly:
   1. affirms that the building in question is private property, 
   2. communicates tap access policies, and 
   3. states that ICE and other law enforcement agents are prohibited from entering the building without a valid judicial warrant that must be shown to a designated university staff member or official;
4. Formally prohibiting ICE and other federal immigration authorities from using university-owned property such as parking areas, transportation and open lots for staging or other civil immigration enforcement purposes, in keeping with guidance from the City of Minneapolis;
5. Committing UMPD and other campus authorities to enforcing the aforementioned trespass prohibition in the event that ICE attempts to stage on university-owned property; and
6. Requiring training on the aforementioned policies and procedures for all university staff, graduate assistants, fellows, and other employees.

While the 1/23 day of action was a momentous demonstration of state-wide solidarity, the work is not over. ICE is still present in our cities, and we are not placated by partial fulfillments of our demands. The efforts of 1/23, Local 1105’s coalition-building with other on-campus student organizations and unions, as well as our continued organizing efforts showcases a core principle of UE: an injury to one is an injury to all.