A sea of robes and collars filled Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport’s Terminal 1 before police moved in, arresting nearly 100 clergy protesting ICE collaborations. Organized by Faith in Minnesota, the group blocked departures, urging airlines like Delta and Signature to drop ICE support amid a surge in deportations—around 2,000 from the site alone—and arrests of 12 workers.
Participants united in prayer, voicing stories of separated families to spotlight ICE’s impact. The airport action anchored ‘ICE Out of Minnesota: A Day of Truth and Freedom,’ which halted over 700 businesses and mobilized a boycott of jobs, shopping, and education across the state.
The catalyst was the January 7 fatal shooting of Renee Good, 37, a U.S. citizen and mother, by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in an operation gone wrong. Daily protests followed, peaking Friday with a blockade to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building’s ICE office. Ice-throwing protesters cracked vehicle glass, prolonging the standoff until Hennepin County Sheriff’s intervened.
Framed as righteous defiance, the clergy’s detention underscores moral opposition to immigration enforcement. Faith in Minnesota eyes this as momentum-builder, with legal fights ahead likely to galvanize more support. In Minnesota’s polarized landscape, the airport showdown reveals raw fault lines over humanity, policy, and power.