MINNEAPOLIS (AP) β Protesters against immigration enforcement took to the streets in cities and towns across the country on Saturday after one federal officerΒ fatally shot a womanΒ in Minneapolis and anotherΒ shot and wounded two peopleΒ in Portland, Oregon.
The demonstrations come as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security pushes forward in the Twin Cities with what it calls itsΒ biggest-ever immigration enforcement operation. President Donald Trump’s administration has said both shootings were acts of self-defense against drivers who βweaponizedβ their vehicles to attack officers.
Steven Eubanks, 51, said he felt compelled to get out of his comfort zone and attend a Saturday protest in Durham, North Carolina, because of what he called the βhorrifyingβ killing in Minneapolis.
βWe canβt allow it,β Eubanks said. βWe have to stand up.β
Indivisible, a social movement organization that formed to resist the Trump administration, said hundreds of protests were scheduled in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Florida and other states. Many were dubbed βICE Out for Goodβ using the acronym for the federal agency Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Indivisible and its local chaptersΒ organized protestsΒ in all 50 states last year.
In Minneapolis, a coalition of migrant rights groups called for a demonstration at Powderhorn Park, a large green space about half a mile from the residential neighborhood whereΒ 37-year-old Renee GoodΒ was shot on Wednesday. They said the rally and march would celebrateΒ Goodβs lifeΒ and call for an βend to deadly terror on our streets.β
Protests held in the neighborhood have so far been largely peaceful, in contrast to the violence that hit Minneapolis in theΒ aftermath of the killing of George FloydΒ in 2020. Near the airport, some confrontations erupted on Thursday and Friday between smaller groups of protesters and officers guarding the federal building used as a base for the Twin Cities crackdown.
On Friday night, a protest outside a Minneapolis hotel that attracted about 1,000 people turned violent as people threw ice, snow and rocks at officers, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a news conference Saturday. One officer suffered minor injuries after being struck with a piece of ice, O’Hara said. Twenty-nine people were cited and released, he said.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stressed that while most protests have been peaceful, those who cause damage to property or put others in danger will be arrested.
Three congresswomen from Minnesota attempted to tour the ICE facility in the Minneapolis federal building on Saturday morning and were initially allowed to enter but then told they had to leave about 10 minutes later.
U.S, Reps. Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison and Angie Craig accused ICE agents of obstructing members of Congress from fulfilling their duty to oversee operations there.
βThey do not care that they are violating federal law,β Craig said after being turned away.
The Trump administration has been surging thousands of federal officers to Minnesota under a sweeping new crackdown tied in part toΒ allegations of fraud involving Somali residents. More than 2,000 officers were taking part.
Some officers moved in afterΒ abruptly pulling out of Louisiana,Β where they were part ofΒ another operationΒ that started last month and was expected to last until February.
