'National Shutdown' brings protests across the nation calling for the end of ICE violence

Christopher Buchanan, Katerina Portela, Hannah Fry and Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times on Jan 30, 2026

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Hundreds gathered in downtown Los Angeles on Friday as part of a nationwide protest over immigration enforcement arrests and increasingly aggressive tactics used by federal agents that has spread anxiety and fear in communities across the United States.

The nationwide protests and walkouts come after similar demonstrations in Minneapolis where two U.S. citizens, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, and Alex Pretti, also 37, an ICU nurse, were fatally shot.

While much national focus has been on Minneapolis, tensions have also escalated in Southern California this month as daily immigration operators continue across the region. The scope of the sweeps appears to be down from last summer’s operations but continue to occur from street corners in Boyle Heights to downtown L.A.’s Fashion District.

Those protesting the immigration actions have found themselves at odds with federal agents, at times in confrontations that have resulted in gunfire and serious injury.

Earlier this month, Homeland Security officers blinded two protesters by shooting a less-lethal projectile at close range during a demonstration in Santa Ana. Days later, a federal agent opened fire at a man, who the Department of Homeland Security said rammed agents with his vehicle while attempting to evade arrest, during an operation in South Los Angeles.

The demonstrations starting Friday call for people to stay home from work and school and refrain from shopping. The sweeping “ICE Out Everywhere” protests are planned to continue Saturday.

Organizers hope the “national shutdown” will convince the Trump administration to stop sending immigration agents to cities across the country or, at least, tone down the heated interactions with protesters. They also hope the actions will pressure the federal government to cut funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to nationalshutdown.org, a website sponsored by various student groups, labor organizations and religious coalitions.

Teens at high schools across the region walked out of their classes — some in solidarity with protesters and others to join the demonstrations themselves. Along a barrier in front of Los Angeles City Hall, students in backpacks carried signs that called for “full rights for all immigrants” as well as justice for Keith Porter Jr., a man fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent in Northridge last month.

One of these students, 16-year-old Neven McGarvey of Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts, said he decided to leave school in the early afternoon to support his classmates, some of whom are the children of immigrants.

“I think protesting like this would make them feel like a part of us,” McGarvey said. “I feel like we have to protest against this.”

He and a row of classmates shouted chants disparaging the mobilization of ICE on cities across the U.S. and responded loudly to honks of support from passersby. Students walking up from nearby schools were handed signs and took position on the steps of City Hall.

President Trump has called the protesters “paid agitators and insurrectionists,” but offered no proof to support claims that those rallying have been paid.

Responding to the growing pushback in Minnesota and among lawmakers in Washington, Trump’s border advisor, Tom Homan, announced Thursday that federal authorities would wind down immigration crackdowns in Minnesota, but only if agents were given access to jails to seize undocumented immigrants for deportation.

That hasn’t appeased protesters at demonstrations throughout Los Angeles County.

Several businesses, including Silver Lake sports bar Untamed Spirits and Canyon Coffee in Echo Park, said on social media that they will be closed Friday for the general strike. Others have vowed to donate a portion of proceeds to organizations in support of immigrants.

The temporary work stoppages have even affected Hollywood television productions. Sources confirmed to Variety that producers postponed filming “Grey’s Anatomy” on Friday after crew members said they would not be showing up for work. Filming for the show’s 22nd season will continue on Saturday, according to the outlet.

Across the country at a protest in Minneapolis, signs held by protesters on Friday included lots of expletives, urging people to resist, to end the “ICE age” and get federal agents out of Minnesota.

“Abolish ice! No one is illegal!” Terresa Hardaway, a graphic design professor at the University of Minnesota and creative director of Blackbird Revolt, a social justice-based design studio, chanted.

Despite Trump’s comments that the administration would deescalate in Minnesota, Hardaway said she hasn’t seen any meaningful changes.

“We are still under occupation by a federally backed institution that is harming our community, that is stealing and abducting our neighbors,” she said. Still, she said, the city remains united.

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