Hundreds of protestors took to City Heights’ Teralta Park last Friday as part of the nationwide strike against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Strikers skipped work, school, and shopping for the day to attend local rallies against ICE.
Two weeks ago, the University of Minnesota’s Black Student Union and Somali Student Association organized a general strike against ICE in Minnesota on Jan. 23. Following its success, the organizers called for a nationwide shutdown.
A general strike aims to pressure the government to act by disrupting the national and global economy. Strikers withhold labor, time, and money on a specific day; if enough people participate, society will effectively stop functioning.
Local activist organizations hosted more than 300 protests across all 50 states in response to the Minnesotan call to strike, according to National Shutdown. The San Diego chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Peace and Freedom Party, alongside a coalition of other local advocacy groups, organized the City Heights rally.
“Last Friday, people in the Twin Cities and all across Minnesota had a day of ‘no work, no school, no shopping’ and shut it down,” PSL San Diego’s flyer advertising the rally read. “It captured the imagination of the whole country. They’ve shown the way for all of us — to stop ICE’s reign of terror, we need to SHUT IT DOWN.”
The rally began at 2 p.m., when various community organizers addressed the crowd. In his opening remarks, PSL organizer Rick Guerrero said that the nationwide shutdown demonstrates the people’s power against the government and ICE’s recent activities.
“They are invading our communities, kidnapping our neighbors, and killing people who exercise their First Amendment right to protest,” Guerrero said. “We demand the abolishment of ICE. We will not compromise.”
Speeches emphasized fighting ICE by building coalitions and showing solidarity with neighbors.
“This is about education,” PSL organizer Alexis Oberg said. “It’s about community, and it’s about building the momentum so that we can do more to make change in this country.”
At approximately 3:10 p.m., protestors marched around Orange Avenue, Marlborough Avenue, Fairmount Avenue, and University Avenue holding signs with slogans like “Stop ICE terror” and “No one is illegal on stolen land.”
Three police cars followed the protestors as they marched. There were no reported police incidents.
Around 20 PSL volunteers serving as security guards also followed the protestors in response to law enforcement officers who threatened demonstrators during the Jan. 12 “Stop ICE Terror” rally in downtown San Diego.
“I hope [people] take away that we’re not alone,” Oberg said. “We’re all in this together, and we have to stay unified in order to work together to stop the government from harming the people.”
The protest ended at around 4 p.m. Local advocates also organized rallies in Mira Mesa, which more than 250 protestors attended, and Hillcrest as part of the nationwide shutdown.