Police arrested roughly 100 clergy members at Minnesota’s largest airport on Friday as they demonstrated against intensified immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. Despite dangerously cold Arctic temperatures, thousands more gathered in downtown Minneapolis to protest what they describe as an aggressive federal crackdown across the state.
The demonstrations are part of a wider movement opposing President Donald Trump’s expanded immigration enforcement efforts. Labor unions, progressive groups and faith leaders have urged Minnesotans to stay home from work, school and even local businesses in a coordinated show of resistance. At the Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport, clergy gathered to denounce deportation flights and call on airlines to push back against what the Department of Homeland Security has described as its largest-ever immigration enforcement operation.
According to Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman Jeff Lea, the clergy were cited for misdemeanor trespassing and failure to comply with a peace officer before being released. Lea said they were arrested outside the main terminal after exceeding the boundaries of their demonstration permit and disrupting airport operations.
Rev. Mariah Furness Tollgaard of Hamline Church in St. Paul said police ordered the group to disperse, but she and others chose to remain and face arrest as an act of solidarity with migrants including members of her own congregation who fear leaving their homes. After her brief detention, she planned to return to her church to lead a prayer vigil.
“We cannot abide living under this federal occupation of Minnesota,” Tollgaard said.
Protesters across the state are demanding that ICE end its operations in Minnesota.
+ There are no comments
Add yours