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A number of restaurants, bars and coffee shops in the Twin Cities are planning to take part in an “economic blackout” strike Friday in response to President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies, according to their own social media posts.
Dozens of food establishments, along with some other small businesses, have planned to close operations, promoting what organizers describe in posters as a “statewide shutdown,” with calls for “no work, no school, no shopping.”
The demonstration against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday in downtown Minneapolis.
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The “ICE Out” was announced on Jan. 13 by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, a group that describes itself on its website as “an all-volunteer, grassroots, multiracial and multinational immigrant rights mass-movement organization.”
Fox News Digital reached out to ICE for comment. The agency previously said its enforcement actions are focused on individuals in this country illegally who pose public safety or national security concerns.
Southeast Asian and Latin street food restaurants Hola Arepa & Hai Hai wrote in a joint Instagram account that they will be closed “in support of the general strike to remove ICE from our cities and get justice for Renee Good.”
Wildflyer Coffee shared that its two locations will be closed “to ensure our staff can participate in ways that feel meaningful to them and to further exist in solidarity with the movement,” the business wrote on Instagram.
The coffee shop wrote that it is also seeking $2,500 “to help offset lost wages and revenue.”
“Your contribution helps ensure that we can take care of our staff and programming in the face of this challenging time,” the post said.
A participating coffee shop is seeking $2,500 “to help offset lost wages and revenue.”
Lost Fox, a St. Paul café, announced on Instagram it will close “in solidarity with ICE OUT of MN” — and encouraged others to participate in the march.
The same café is also handing out whistles, writing, “Come by and grab one this week if you don’t already have one.”
An Argentinian Italian restaurant, Martina, posted on its Instagram page that it will be participating in the strike.
“Based on many meaningful conversations with team members, we have made the decision to close Martina on Friday, January 23rd. We will resume normal service on Saturday,” the restaurant’s post said.
“No work, no school, no shopping.”
Metta Coffee, in Anoka County, wrote on its Facebook page that “in solidarity with fellow businesses, both our coffee shop and bookstore” will be closed on Friday.
“We object to the invasion of our state and the political corruption,” the post said. “We call for ICE to stop the invasion and leave Minnesota. No work, no school, no shopping.”
Bull’s Horn bar wrote on Instagram, “We stand with our immigrant community and neighbors and will be closed for the ‘ICE Out’ protest.”
As restaurants continue to announce their participation in the Friday closures, some businesses have also posted signs stating that federal immigration agents are not permitted to enter their establishments.
“Federal agents (ICE, DEA, ATF, or any other agent or agency) may not enter or park or stage immigration operations on this property,” reads a sign posted on a gas station door in Minneapolis.
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Rancho Loco Grill & Bar put a sign on its door that reads, “ICE is not welcome to this business.”
A coffee shop in Minneapolis posted a sign indicating that federal agents are “not permitted on premises” and that staff is not authorized to allow ICE access to the business.
Georgia-based civil rights attorney Robert Patillo told Fox News Digital that owners can legally refuse entrance to ICE agents “unless they show a real judicial warrant signed by a judge — not just ICE paperwork. [This] is why many lawyers encourage language like, ‘We do not consent to immigration enforcement in non‑public areas without a judicial warrant.'”
“At the same time, staff have to be trained that if agents do show up with a valid warrant, this is not the moment for a heroic physical standoff,” Patillo added.
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“The law draws a bright line between saying, ‘We won’t help you,’ and actively blocking or hiding someone named in that warrant.”
Clergy members on Tuesday, according to Fox 9, plan to announce hundreds of places of worship in Minnesota that will also take part in Friday’s shutdown denouncing the ICE surge.
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