Statement Regarding Insufficient Corporate Letter
On Behalf of ICE Out of MN Event Coalition
For Immediate Release
Following Massive Day of Action and Killing of Alex Pretti, Minnesota’s Biggest Corporations Finally Put Out Statement, Still Refuse to Call for End to ICE Violence
MINNEAPOLIS – Two days after over 75,000 Minnesotans marched in subzero temperatures, the MN Chamber of Commerce and major Minnesota corporations have broken their silence about the attacks on our state. The statement comes after the historic Day of Truth and Freedom, in which over 1000 local businesses closed in solidarity, 100 clergy were arrested, and multiple corporate offices were occupied.
Yet while the statement breaks corporate silence, it falls far short of what is needed. The ICE Out of MN coalition that pulled together the Day of Truth and Freedom on January 23rd has called out the Minnesota businesses for their continued unwillingness to stand on the side of the majority of Minnesotans who want this violence to end:
“The Chamber statement calls for cooperation between the state and federal government, which is alarming given that Attorney General Pam Bondi has outlined what that cooperation means: granting the DOJ access to Minnesota voter rolls and other tools of federal overreach in the name of ‘ending the chaos’ they violently created. And CBP Commander Greg Bovino, whose agency killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday, has said there are ‘no plans to leave Minnesota.’
“The bravery of Minnesotans in the face of unchecked federal violence has been overwhelming. On Jan. 23 over 1,000 small businesses lead by example by protecting their workers and signing on to a statement calling on ICE out of MN. Regular Minnesotans are standing up in front of schools and daycares to prevent children from being abducted by federal agents. This statement by hugely powerful individuals, who use their full voices and power to get the government to give them massive tax breaks for the billionaire class, is profoundly lacking in courage.
“Friday saw what may have been the largest mobilization in Minnesota history, and Saturday saw more abductions and another murder. We will continue to call on rich and powerful corporations to stand with the Minnesotan families. . . We call on any corporation with a direct line to the White House to call for what is needed to keep us safe.
ICE must leave Minnesota now.
Any officer who kills or harms a civilian must be held legally accountable. That starts with full legitimate investigations and charges by local officials.
Shut down Trump’s ICE. No additional federal funding for ICE in the upcoming Congressional budget and ICE should be investigated for human and Constitutional violations of Americans and our neighbors.
We call upon all corporations to become 4th Amendment businesses, cease economic relations with ICE and refuse ICE entry or using their property for staging grounds, and lobby congress to freeze funding for ICE/DHS.
No one gets left behind, or traded away. Nothing less is acceptable and silence or neutrality must be considered collaboration with the agents perpetrating violence on our state.”
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