Minnesota strides forward against ICE

 

Minnesota strides forward against ICE: ICE Killings and the 23rd  January 2026, General Strike

January 25, 2026; and we add a post-script dated at January 26, 2026 – placed at the end

“It is strikes that have gradually taught the working class of all countries to struggle against the governments for workers’ rights and for the rights of the people as a whole…  strikes are… “a school of war” and not the war itself, that strikes are only one means of struggle, only one aspect of the working-class movement. From individual strikes the workers can and must go over, as indeed they are actually doing in all countries, to a struggle of the entire working class for the emancipation of all who labour.”
V. I.   Lenin On Strikes”; 1899; Lenin Collected Works, 1964, Moscow, Volume 4, p. 310-319; or at MIA

Lenin’s assessment of 1899 that “strikes are a school of war” remains true today. This has been confirmed by the January 2026 events in Minnesota.

ICE agents of President Trump’s regime flooded the state of Minnesota under the spurious cover of “protecting” the USA from criminals who entered the country “illegally”. Ever since the killing of Renee Good in January 2026, the working class of Minnesota – irrespective of race – have all been targeted for terror and intimidation by President Trump’s Federal state. The class fought back in a ‘General Strike’. Despite the reluctance of some Union officials to endorse it, others loudly voiced support:

“Mr. Anderson, the board member of the St. Paul Federation of Educators, said his union signed on after much debate, and asked members “to decide what that call to action means to them.”
“We decided it was now time to take a stand,” Mr. Anderson said. “It was time to boldly declare that enough is enough. We’re not going to take it anymore.”
 Chris Hippensteel, Talya Minsberg, Maia Coleman, and Summer Rabold. “Demonstrators Flood Minneapolis Streets as Hundreds of Businesses Close to Protest ICE”; New York Times (NYT) 24 January, 2026.

The USA federal agency known as ICE – for United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement – had already been sent into several cities now to carry out the Trump and Miller mandate of terrorising the working class.

(See “Justifying” a military crackdown – Trump, Stephen Miller use ICE to provoke and goad”; June 9, 2025 At MLRG.Online June 2025  and
See: “Fascism spirals upwards in Washington DC – The USA continues to spiral into a completely fascist state” August 13, 2025 at: August 2025 MLRG.online )

We reprise events leading up to the Minnesota January 23, 2026 strike, and its aftermath under the following sub-headings.

1. 1. The pretext for the Federal Government to storm the state of Minnesota
   2. Stephen Miller signals no restraint and demands Quotas
   3. License to storm houses
   4. The murder of a mother Ms Renee Good on January 7, 2026
   5. The Vice-President Vance and Noem gives cover to murderers
   6. The General Strike Minneapolis-St.Paul 23 January 2026
   7. The murder of the nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti on January, 24 2026

1. The pretext for the Federal Government to storm the state of Minnesota

Like many immigrants, Somalis had fled the civil war in their own country. At the time, a federal refugee program allowed refuge in the USA, and thousands were settled in Minnesota. Elected Congress Representative in 2018, Ilhan Omar comes from this community. She has been a particular thorn in Republican and President Trump’s side. Trump has long been vituperative to Africans in America, but the fraud involving monies from social services has exacerbated the racism:

“President Trump’s derision of immigrants stretches back decades and has largely focused on people from African and developing nations. At times, that has included Somalis, with Mr. Trump calling their resettlement in Minneapolis a “disaster,” and repeatedly attacking Representative Omar. He unleashed an especially xenophobic tirade at Somali Americans in December, when at the tail end of a Cabinet meeting, he called Somali immigrants “garbage” as he denounced a fraud scandal in Minneapolis involving social services run by Somalis…
Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have described a brazen and sprawling fraud scandal in which people stole millions and possibly billions of dollars from state social service organizations. Of the 98 people who have been charged in connection with the fraud so far, 85 are of Somali descent, according to the White House.”
Jazmine Ulloa and Campbell Robertson; “Somalis Fled Civil War and Built a Community. Now They Are a Target”; NYT January 11, 2026

This fraud investigation began in 2022:

“When prosecutors charged dozens of people with stealing hundreds of millions from a program intended to keep children fed during the pandemic.”
Ernesto Londoño “Prosecutors Say Minnesota’s Fraud Scandal Goes Further Than Previously Known”; NYT December 18, 2025

It is claimed that ICE is “assisting” this fraud investigation:

“ICE’s homeland security investigations are conducting operations to identify, arrest, remove criminals who are defrauding the American people in Minnesota,” Ms. McLaughlin said. “We will root out this fraud and hold those who steal from American taxpayers accountable.”
Jazmine Ulloa and Campbell Robertson; “Somalis Fled Civil War and Built a Community. Now They Are a Target”; NYT January 11, 2026

But clearly the scale of this has been dramatically blown out of any proportion – with the Trump Government extrapolating crime to all of Somalian descent. The Democratic Governor Tim Walz had already been investigating this acknowledged fraud by a handful of persons – before ICE agents invaded the state.

2. Stephen Miller signals January 2025 no restraint and demands quotas

As soon as the thrown election of 2024 was won, and the Trump regime took power – its officials have moved aggressively on the issue of deportation in especial. In January 2025, the Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller signalled early on that ICE officials were to meet quotas of deportations:

“Mr. Miller, a staunch advocate of tightening America’s borders, said on Fox News in late May that ICE would set a goal of a “minimum” of 3,000 arrests a day, figures never before seen and 10 times the daily arrests during the Biden administration. Since Jan. 21, ICE has arrested more than 100,000 people suspected of being in the country illegally, according to data obtained by The Times.
… at ICE’s headquarters, Mr. Miller reviewed the agency’s arrest rate and discussed ways to ratchet it up… ICE officials asked Mr. Miller for more resources, such as extra transportation help, to help meet the ambitious goals, he said….
Mr. Miller asked those in the room if they thought they could hit one million deportations this year…
“There is a constant state of anxiety,” said Jason Houser, a former ICE chief of staff during the Biden administration. “They understand they are playing Stephen Miller’s game. This isn’t about public safety or national security; this is about hitting a quota number. That’s it.”
Hamed Aleaziz ; “Under Pressure From the White House, ICE Seeks New Ways to Ramp Up Arrests”; June 11, 2025; 

The agency has steadily become more brazen and violent. This has been explicitly encouraged and justified by the Trump administration. In October 24, 2025 Miller was interviewed by Fox TV host Will Cain. Miller noted attempts by the Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, to stop ICE attacks in Chicago.

“Cain said, “talked about interfering with, arresting, ICE agents in Illinois,” Cain asked Miller under what federal authority the Trump administration could arrest Pritzker if the governor tried to arrest ICE agents.
“To all ICE officers, you have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties,” Miller said. “And anybody who lays a hand on you or tries to stop you or tries to obstruct you is committing a felony.”
Miller said his answer applied to any local or state official “who conspires or engages in activity that unlawfully impedes federal law enforcement conducting their duties.”
Politifact citing Fox News

Miller made clear that attempts to hold ICE agents back by other legal branches – including for example, state authorities – would lead to charges of “criminal conspiracy”:

“Steven Miller… And the Department of Justice has made clear that if officials cross that line into obstruction, into criminal conspiracy against the United States or against ICE officers, then they will face justice.”
Ezra Klein “What Stephen Miller Is Signaling to ICE Officers”; NYT 24 January 2026

It is true that the law has been unclear in how it is applied, because of the ‘supremacy clause immunity’ :

“State governments also can prosecute immigration agents if they break state law. However, there is a limitation known as supremacy clause immunity which comes from the U.S. Constitution’s clause that says federal law supersedes conflicting state laws. Protections against state prosecution for federal agents date back to an 1890 Supreme Court decision. David Neagle, a deputy U.S. marshal assigned to protect a Supreme Court justice, shot and killed a man who assaulted the justice. California arrested Neagle and charged him with murder. The Supreme Court ruled that the state couldn’t prosecute Neagle because he was carrying out official duties.

Generally, federal agents are protected from state prosecution if their actions were authorized by federal law, and if the actions were “necessary and proper” for agents to fulfill their duties.”
Politifact Oct. 29, 2025 

Ultimately ICE and its allied federal agencies such as Border Patrol Guard – have been instructed to carry out the Trump-Miller agenda of deportation and terror – with no scruples or fears of legal reprisals.  They have been enormously funded, but are not trained well – and rely only on terror to achieve their goals:

“Most ICE agents are not trained to handle crowd control, according to a 2021 report by the Government Accountability Office. That is in part because ICE has historically focused on targeted arrests that attract less attention and rarely put its officers in conflict with the public.
Moreover, the agency is rapidly expanding its ranks, already more than doubling its number of law enforcement personnel, after an infusion of $75 billion in new funding over four years. “
Hamed Aleaziz and Nicholas Nehamas; “Under Trump, a Shift Toward ‘Absolute Immunity’ for ICE”; NYT 15 January 2026; at

3. ICE given license to storm houses

ICE agents were also encouraged to sidestep the prior restrictions on entry of homes without any prior warrants. That former protection extended from the Fourth Amendment:

“A whistle-blower group (called Whistleblower Aid) on (… 22 January 2026 – Ed) said that ICE officials drafted guidance saying that deportation officers are allowed to enter homes to arrest people without a judicial warrant.
… The group released a copy of a memo dated May 12, 2025, and apparently signed by Todd Lyons, the acting leader of ICE, that advises agents that they can enter homes on the basis of an administrative warrant…
“Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new policy to permit arrests in an alien’s residence, without a judicial warrant or consent, is a complete break from the law and undercuts the Fourth Amendment and the rights it protects,” Whistleblower Aid said…
DHS officials did not contest the specific allegations made by the whistle-blower group…
“Every illegal alien who DHS serves administrative warrants/I-205s,” said Tricia McLaughlin, an agency spokeswoman, has had “full due process” and a final order of removal from an immigration judge. “The officers issuing these administrative warrants also have found probable cause,” she added.
 Hamed Aleaziz; “ICE Said Agents Can Enter Homes Without Judicial Warrant, Group Claims”; NYT 21 January 2026

Once again, any prior Constitutional norms are torn up to extend the powers of an emerging fascist state:

“Although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not historically relied on administrative warrants alone to arrest aliens subject to final orders of removal in their place of residence,” the memo reads, “the DHS Office of General Counsel has recently determined that the U.S. Constitution, the Immigration and Nationality Act and the immigration regulations do not prohibit relying on administrative warrants for this purpose.”
Hamed Aleaziz; “ICE Said Agents Can Enter Homes Without Judicial Warrant, Group Claims”; NYT 21 January 2026

The memo adds that officers and agents must knock and announce themselves first but says that if an immigrant does not respond, they can use a “reasonable amount” of force to enter the home.

All this, quite predictably and as intended – led to unbridled violence. The ICE shooting of Mrs Renne Nicole Good was a particularly serious case of this, but far from the only one.

4. The murder of a mother Ms Renee Good on January 7, 2026

As ICE activity ramped up in Minnesota, it was followed by some very brave volunteers seeking to document their actions. One of the organisers of this effort is himself a refugee from El Salvador – Francisco Segovia. He trains people into this activism. As the executive director of a Minneapolis nonprofit (COPAL stands for Communities Organizing Power and Action for Latinos) he is on the front lines of anti-ICE operations.

He was interviewed by the NYT and describes the processes and the politics of the group in “Minneapolis Feels ‘Like Being in a Civil War’ – Documenting ICE is dangerous. This man wants you to do it anyway”; Interview with Ross Douthat; NYT 16 January 2026”

It was only because of such brave activists that we are aware of what actually happened when an ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good. She was driving in a maroon car away from the ICE agents after they confronted her. She had been watching and recording their activities, thus Good was a volunteer, legal observer. What happened next is documented by Heather Cox Richardson:

“Three videos taken at the scene show a maroon SUV perpendicular on a snowy street. A silver SUV driving up the street stops. Two officers wearing badges that say “police” and body armor get out of the vehicle and walk toward the maroon car.
One of them says, “Get out of the f*cking car,” and the other reaches through the open driver’s side window while trying to open the door. The driver backs up the vehicle, and straightens the wheel as if making a three-point turn. Then she starts slowly to accelerate along the street.
A third officer who has been standing on the side of the road pulls out a gun as the car is turning away. He shoots three times. The maroon car does not hit anyone as it rolls up the street, hitting another vehicle and then a utility pole. The shooter walks briskly away, apparently uninjured.
Seen in slow motion, a video shows the wheels of the maroon vehicle were fully turned away from the shooting officer, who made no effort to jump away, clearly suggesting he did not feel as if he were in danger. His first shot went through the windshield; the next two went through the driver’s side window as the car moved past him…
Video taken by another eyewitness shows ICE agents refusing to allow a self-identified physician to tend to the victim and telling him to back up. Although there is no one tending the clearly visible woman in the car, an agent says: “We have medics on scene. We have our own medics.” When another bystander screams: “Where are they? WHERE ARE THEY?!” an agent tells her, “Relax.” “How can I relax?” she shouts. “You just killed my f*cking neighbor.”
Heather Cox Richardson, “Letters to an America”; January 7, 2026 

This vicious action has driven the Democratic Governor Walz of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis police to demand police investigations:

“Minnesota governor Tim Walz called the deployment “a war that’s being waged against Minnesota.” “You’re seeing that we have a ridiculous surge of apparently 2,000 people not coordinating with us, that are for a show of cameras,”
Heather Cox Richardson, “Letters to an America”; January 7, 2026 

 This has been repeatedly stalled by President Trump, Vice-President J.D.Vance and the Homeland Security Department Secretary Kristi Noem. Trump began:

“Trump jumped in with his own fact-free post lying that the shooter had been run over: “I have just viewed the clip of the event which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is a horrible thing to watch. The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot at her in self defense. “
Heather Cox Richardson, “Letters to an America”; January 7, 2026; 

The Mayor of Minneapolis responded as follows:

“Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey told reporters that the DHS statement was “bullsh*t. This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed.”
Heather Cox Richardson, “Letters From an America”; January 7, 2026; 

Trump, Vance and Noem have all lied about the incident and the victim, claiming she was a terrorist:

“Vice President J.D. Vance made even more extreme statements, claiming—all evidence to the contrary – that the woman shot in Minneapolis was part of a “left wing network” and that “nobody debates” that she “aimed her car at a law enforcement officer and pressed on the accelerator.” In fact, among those who “debate” Vance’s version of events are the journalists at the New York Times, who today published a slow-motion analysis that demonstrated conclusively that the vehicle was turning away from the officer when he opened fire.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt increased the attack on Good even more today by saying: “The deadly incident that took place in Minnesota yesterday occurred as a result of a larger, sinister left-wing movement that has spread across our country, where our brave men and women of federal law enforcement are under organized attack.”
The administration appears to be trying to make sure their narrative will get an official stamp of approval by silencing a real investigation. Today, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), a statewide criminal investigative bureau in the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has shut its officials out of the investigation into Good’s death. The FBI will no longer allow the BCA to “have access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation.” The BCA has, it said, “reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation.”
Heather Cox Richardson; January 8, 2026; at January 8

“FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche visited Minneapolis on Friday, amidst press reports that Patel has appealed to FBI agents nationwide for volunteers to transfer temporarily to Minneapolis. In an extraordinary statement, Blanche claimed last week that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (the former vice presidential candidate) and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, were guilty of “terrorism,” declaring, in a message to Walz and Frey, that he was “focused on stopping YOU from your terrorism by whatever means necessary.”
“No troops in Minneapolis! For a general strike against Trump’s coup!”
Socialist Equality Party (US) 19 January 2026 at WSWS

5. The Vice-President Vance and Noem gives cover to murderers

As we saw in January 2025, the Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller made clear that no ICE or Border Patrol Guard would be held to account for any misdeeds. This was was reinforced by ICE officials giving instructions to take “decisive action” before the murder of Renee Good:

“Several weeks before the (Renee Good – Ed) shooting, a top ICE official told officers to take “decisive action” if threatened.”
 Hamed Aleaziz and Nicholas Nehamas; “Under Trump, a Shift Toward ‘Absolute Immunity’ for ICE”; NYT 15 January 2026

After the murder, Vance leapt to the defence of the ICE agent:

“Immediately after, Mr. Trump and other administration officials said Ms. Good had tried to run the agent over, although a Times video analysis found that she appeared to have turned her vehicle away from him.
“That guy is protected by absolute immunity,” Vice President JD Vance said last week of the ICE agent who killed Ms. Good, 37. “He was doing his job.”
 Hamed Aleaziz and Nicholas Nehamas; “Under Trump, a Shift Toward ‘Absolute Immunity’ for ICE”; NYT 15 January 2026

Astonishingly enough Vance then released the cell phone video from the “shooter himself – Jonathan Ross” – which all independent observers see vindicates Ms Good completely:

“in an apparent attempt to regain control of the national narrative surrounding the deadly shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis, Vice President J.D. Vance led the administration in pushing a video of the shooting captured by the shooter himself, Jonathan Ross, on his cell phone…
Ross’s camera shows his face and then sways—remember, he has been filming all this on his phone. There are three shots and the houses on the side of the street swing back into view on Ross’s camera, indicating he did not drop it. As the car rolls up the street, Ross says, “F*cking b*tch!” just before there is the sound of a smash….
What is truly astonishing is that the administration thought this video would exonerate Ross and support the administration’s insistence that he was under attack from a domestic terrorist trying to ram him with her car. The video was leaked to a right-wing news site, and Vance reposted it with the caption: “What the press has done in lying about this innocent law enforcement officer is disgusting. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.” The Department of Homeland Security reposted Vance’s post.”
Heather Cox Richardson; “Letters From an American”; January 10, 2026; 

Cox Richardson accurately describes what is happening here:

“The thread that runs through… is the assumption that an American exercising their constitutional rights must submit, without question, to a white man holding a gun.”
Heather Cox Richardson; “Letters From an American”; January 10, 2026; 

But not just any “white man” –  a “masked, white man wearing an ICE logo holding a gun to someone who has the temerity to answer back, and a woman to boot.” As to the investigation – it is dubious this will ever be “allowed” in a full, unhindered manner by the Federal State:

“In this case, the question of whether state charges would ever be brought against the agent, who shot and killed Good, 37, while she was seated in the driver’s seat of her car, is clouded because of the investigation itself. The DHS described Good as a “rioter” who was obstructing and attempting to use her vehicle against officers enforcing immigration laws. Three videos taken of the scene and reviewed by CNN, however, show a more nuanced picture of the scene.
Local investigators said Thursday morning that federal officials blocked them from participating in a probe into the dramatic and deadly incident that unfolded a day earlier, drawing outrage from Minnesota’s governor and attorney general.
The decision meant that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) which was planning to jointly investigate the matter with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, currently has few tools available to fully scrutinize the shooting and provide its findings to county prosecutors, who would then determine whether the agent should face state charges.
“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands,” BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said in a statement, adding that his agency expects the FBI to conduct “a thorough and complete investigation” and share its file with state and federal prosecutors.”
Devan Cole; “Do ICE agents have absolute immunity? No, experts say, but it’s not easy for a state to prosecute”; at CNN 9 January 2026; 

Vance insisted initially on using the phrase the “absolute immunity” of “that guy who was doing his job“:

“Speaking at the White House, Vance appeared to try to stymie any efforts by Minnesota prosecutors to pursue a criminal case against the agent.
“The precedent here is very simple. You have a federal law enforcement official engaging in federal law enforcement action – that’s a federal issue. That guy is protected by absolute immunity. He was doing his job,” Vance said, echoing others in the Trump administration. “I’ve never seen anything like that. It would get tossed out by a judge.”
Devan Cole; “Do ICE agents have absolute immunity? No, experts say, but it’s not easy for a state to prosecute”; at CNN 9 January 2026; 

Now however confronted by the various outpourings of anger and videos, Vance has been forced to backtrack a wee bit:

“Vice President JD Vance backtracked from his earlier remarks that the ICE agent who killed Renee Nicole Good has “absolute immunity” from criminal charges.
“I didn’t say and I don’t think anyone in the Trump administration said that officers who engaged in wrongdoing would enjoy immunity. That’s absurd. What I did say is that when federal law enforcement officers violate the law that’s typically something federal officials would look into. We don’t want these guys to have kangaroo courts,” Vance said on Thursday during his visit to Minneapolis.”
MSN News 23 January 2026; at: MSN News 23 January

6. The General Strike January 23, 2026

The working class saw exactly what had happened – a vicious murder by an armed agent of the state. But the pressure from ICE goons continued. As did brave counter-protests, and on-going legal observation and documentation of ICE actions. In our summary and conclusions, these other events in January are briefly listed.

Such was the outrage that many community organisers and activists mobilised for a wide-scale strike. It was only after this had been set in motion that trade union officials joined in.

However, large demonstrations on 23rd January – so at relatively short notice – took place.  Despite the attempts to de-mobilise by fear. The Vice-President’s visited the twin cities on the previous day, and the armed troops of the 11th Airborne Division were standing by.

Ultimately an estimated 100,000 people took part (See WSWS at 23 January 2026). It was notable that many petit-bourgeois small business owners were supportive of the strike. But largely it was the working class that pitched – of all colours and nationalities. Despite bitterly cold temperatures, a large body of people came out in the twin cities of Minneapolis-St.Paul:

“Thousands of protesters shut down parts of Minneapolis-St. Paul on Friday as hundreds of businesses closed their doors, and workers and students stayed home to demand an end to the sweeping immigration crackdown that has roiled the Twin Cities for weeks. The action…  unfolded in subzero temperatures, was the most widespread and organized demonstration since federal agents arrived in Minneapolis more than six weeks ago. It was aimed at pressuring the federal government to pull thousands of its agents from the streets.
Businesses, many of them locally owned, closed their doors to halt economic activity, saying that losing a day’s revenue was worth the cost to be part of the effort to end the immigration enforcement.…
The day of protests followed weeks of clashes between Minnesotans and federal agents, mostly in the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas. The immigration operation, which started late last year, has led to some 3,000 arrests, at least two shootings in Minneapolis and chaotic scenes on the streets.”
Chris Hippensteel, Talya Minsberg, Maia Coleman, and Summer Rabold. “Demonstrators Flood Minneapolis Streets as Hundreds of Businesses Close to Protest ICE”: New York Times (NYT) 24 January, 2026.

It is true that many unions participated:

“Among the unions endorsing the call are Service Employees Local 26, UNITE HERE Local 17, Communications Workers Local 7250, the St. Paul Federation of Educators Local 28, Minneapolis Federation of Educators (AFT Local 59), the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 13, Graduate Labor Union, United Electrical Workers Local 1105 at the University of Minnesota, the Transit Union (ATU) Local 1005, the Committee of Interns and Residents (SEIU), and the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. “Our labor federations are encouraging everyone to participate on January 23rd,” said Chelsie Glaubitz Gabiou, president of the Minneapolis federation. “It’s time for every single Minnesotan who loves this state and the notion of truth and freedom to raise their voices and deepen their solidarity for our neighbors and co-workers living under this federal occupation.”
Luis Feliz Leon; “Will ICE Ignite a Mass Strike in Minnesota?” Labor Notes January 16, 2026 at  January 16 Labor Notes

Many unions however, refused to call out their members – on a full strike – for various reasons. Firstly, labelling it with other terms was a dilution – and if unions had not mandated a strike, some workers did not attend. An example of the dilution of the label ‘strike’ from a leader of the event on January 23, is here:

“We are not going to shop. We are not going to work. We are not going to school on Friday, January 23. For some people they call that a strike,” said JaNaé Bates Imari of Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church at a press conference on Tuesday. “For many of us, this is our right to refusal until something changes.”
Luis Feliz Leon; “Will ICE Ignite a Mass Strike in Minnesota?” Labor Notes January 16, 2026 at  January 16 Labor Notes

In another example:

“Chris Rubesch, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, a union representing more than 22,000 nurses and other health care workers, said he and other leaders discouraged members from missing work because of “no-strike” provisions in their contract.”
 Chris Hippensteel et al; “Demonstrators Flood Minneapolis Streets”; NYT Ibid 24 January 2026

We are sure that what happened within 24 hours to one of their colleagues, will have given the Nursing Association leaders some pause.

7. The murder of the nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti on January 24, 2026

Already, the killing of a mother – Renee Good had shown “that this sort of thing can happen here“.

“It was unthinkable — until it happened — that a white, presumably middle-class protester would be executed on camera in broad daylight in an American city. And now that it’s happened, it’s the sort of thing that can happen here.”
Masha Gessen in conversation with Ezra Klein; “ The Killing of Renee Good Was a Turning Point“;  January 13 2026; NYT

But what was to come less than 24 hours after the General Strike was another killing. This time of a respected, white male nurse at the ICU of the Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital. He had moved to help a woman who had been tear-gassed by ICE goons. He was carrying a gun but he had a legal permit to do so:

“Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, officials said.
Mr. Pretti, who was 37, was a registered nurse who worked in the intensive-care unit at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis,…
He had a firearms permit, required by state law in Minnesota to carry a handgun, officials said.”
Corina Knoll, Julie Bosman and Maia Coleman; “Alex Jeffrey Pretti Knew He Wanted to Help Others”; NYT 24 the January 2026

 Contrary to the evidence from the several videos available, claims were made quickly by Noem the Department of Homeland Secretary that Mr.Pretti had been a “domestic terrorist” who had “approached US Border Patrol officers” with a gun:

“The Department of Homeland Security said the episode began after a man “approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun” and they tried to disarm him. Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary, accused him of “domestic terrorism.”
Rylee Kirk; “What We Know About a Second Fatal Shooting by Federal Agents in Minneapolis”: NYT 24th January 2026

Yet once again concrete video analysis by bystanders doing their civic jobs as observers, showed that to the contrary – Pretti was fatally shot holding a phone:

“But a New York Times analysis of videos filmed at the scene suggested that Mr. Pretti had been holding a phone, not his gun, in his hands when he was tackled by federal officers.
Videos of the encounter on Saturday suggest that it began after a small group of protesters — including Mr. Pretti — had gathered near federal agents operating in Minneapolis…
One of the agents began shoving the demonstrators, deploying pepper spray in their faces, video showed. Mr. Pretti, who was holding up his phone, moved to help one of the protesters who had been sprayed before several agents tackled him to the ground.
Several seconds after Mr. Pretti was on the ground, agents yelled that he had a gun. One of the officers then pulled what appeared to be a firearm out of the group. The agents appeared to be holding Mr. Pretti with his arms pinned near his head, firmly under control.
Chief O’Hara said investigators believe that at least two agents opened fire. At least 10 shots appeared to have been fired at Mr. Pretti within five seconds, according to the Times analysis of video footage.”
Rylee Kirk; “What We Know About a Second Fatal Shooting by Federal Agents in Minneapolis”: NYT 24th January 2026

Once again, Federal leaders denied the Minnesota authorities any rights over any investigations at the crime scene – and Noem has stomped all over the incident to defend the un-named officers:

“Federal authorities said the Department of Homeland Security would lead the investigation into Mr. Pretti’s shooting. But Ms. Noem has already issued a full-throated defense of the officers involved, saying Mr. Pretti most likely intended to “kill law enforcement,” without providing evidence.
Mr. Pretti’s death appeared poised to become part of a broader legal battle over whether state officials can hold federal officers to account amid the Trump administration’s immigration clampdown.
Minnesota officials say the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will lead a separate investigation that could lead to state charges.
But the Department of Homeland Security initially blocked state agents from examining the scene of the shooting, said Drew Evans, the bureau’s superintendent. Minnesota officials were also blocked from accessing evidence and pursuing an investigation into Ms. Good’s death.”
Rylee Kirk; “What We Know About a Second Fatal Shooting by Federal Agents in Minneapolis”: NYT 24th January 2026

Summary and conclusions:

M.Gesen gave in the NYT a short summary of events in January 2026, for an article “State Terror Has Arrived”:

“Since early January, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement expanded its operation in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., federal officers have: killed Renee Good, a white middle-class mother; menaced a pregnant immigration lawyer in her firm’s parking lot; detained numerous U.S. citizens, including one who was dragged out of his house in his underwear; smashed in the windows of cars and detained their occupants, including a U.S. citizen who was on her way to a medical appointment at a traumatic brain injury center; set off crowd-control grenades and a tear gas container next to a car that contained six children, including a 6-month-old; swept an airport, demanding to see people’s papers and arresting more than a dozen people who were working there; detained a 5-year-old. And now they have killed another U.S. citizen, Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an I.C.U. nurse with no criminal record. It seems he was white. The agents had him down on the ground, subdued, before they apparently fired at least 10 shots at point-blank range.”
M.Gesen; “State Terror Has Arrived”; NYT Jan. 24, 2026

We agree with the summary and the title of the article. But a movement has begun with a working class in a besieged state, who saw no alternative but to call a strike. Despite  some attempts to call it something else – it was a strike.

This movement grows. The subsequent murder of Mr Pretti shows there is no other way to stop the ICE rampages. More local committees, more trade unions at local working shops at plants etc – are needed. They have arisen and will grow.

As a minimum, the slogans for this movement should include the following, recognising that the last in particular demand – will be difficult to achieve:

◊ Withdrawing of ICE agents from Minneapolis and other cities;

◊ Charges and public trials against the murderers of both Ms Good and Mr. Pretti;

◊ Release of those in detention from the ICE raids across the USA

◊ Public enquiry with a view to laying criminal charges against the Trump leaders, setting and enabling the ICE attacks on the agenda.

Ultimately – given the nature of the capitalist crisis besetting the USA – only a Marxist-Leninist united party can prevent this continuing and deteriorating.

Only a socialist solution can stop this societal attack on workers. But – the General Strike held in Minnesota is a valuable sign of how the class can move.

Once again, as Lenin said – “strikes are a school of war”. The working class is in a war. The Minnesota Strike was the first indication of how to organise – it goes beyond the “No Kings” demonstrations of the very recent past of June 2025. (see “The Shaping up of the Anti-Trump, Anti-Fascist Front in the USA” MLRG.Online June 17, 2025

 January 25, 2026

Post-script January 26, 2026

Above, we noted that “this movement grows“. We cite from today’s newsletter from Heather Cox Richardson – clear evidence of this, of massive support from the community to the protesters – including members of the National Guard who were drafted into the city. There is also further evidence of some splits within the Republican Party – on which we will write further in coming weeks.

But the excerpt from Richardson is very informative for all communists:

“In Minneapolis today, the Minnesota prison system took the extraordinary step of launching its own website to combat lies from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Its first major announcement suggested that Bovino had lied about the Border Patrol operation that was underway when agents killed Alex Pretti. The Minnesota Department of Corrections expressed its condolences to the family and loved ones of Alex Pretti and said that although Bovino claimed that the operation was targeting a man with a significant criminal history, that information was false.

In fact, the individual Bovino identified had never been in custody in Minnesota, and records showed only traffic-related offenses for him. Records did show, though, that he had been in federal immigration custody during Trump’s first administration and had been released.

Chief Brian O’Hara of the Minneapolis Police Department told Margaret Brennan of Face the Nation, “People have had enough. This is the third shooting now in less than three weeks. The Minneapolis Police Department went the entire year last year recovering about 900 guns from the street, arresting hundreds and hundreds of violent offenders, and we didn’t shoot anyone, and now this is the second American citizen that’s been killed, it’s the third shooting within three weeks…. This is not sustainable. This police department has only 600 police officers. We are stretched incredibly thin. This is taking an enormous toll, trying to manage all of this chaos on top of having to be the police department for a major city. It’s too much.”

The Minnesota National Guard made it clear which side they were on. Wearing neon vests to distinguish themselves from federal agents, they handed out doughnuts, coffee, and hot chocolate to anti-ICE protesters.

The National Basketball Players Association said it could no longer remain silent. “Now more than ever,” it said, “we must defend the right to freedom of speech and stand in solidarity with the people in Minnesota protesting and risking their lives to demand justice. The fraternity of NBA players, like the United States itself, is a community enriched by its global citizens, and we refuse to let the flames of division threaten the civil liberties that are meant to protect us all. The NBPA and its members extend our deepest condolences to the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, just as our thoughts remain focused on the safety and well-being of all members of our community.”
Heather Cox Richardson, “Letters From an American”; Jan 26, 2026