Minnesotas largest nurses union is urging its members to join a statewide economic blackout targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), deepening the states ongoing turmoil over federal immigration enforcement.
According to The Post Millennial, the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) circulated a message this week promoting participation in ICE Out of Minnesota: A Day of Truth and Freedom, scheduled for January 23. The union told members that The Minnesota Nurses Association is encouraging members to participate in this day of action, including the economic blackout and the 2:00 pm rally, as a visible show of solidarity with immigrant communities, workers, and families impacted by ICE activity.
The union framed the initiative as a political statement rather than a labor action, insisting that nurses must still report for duty. We want to be clear and upfront: MNA is not calling for a work stoppage or walkout. Nurses hold a unique and essential role as caregivers and patient advocates, the message stated, adding that members should honor the no-strike provisions of their contracts and report to work as scheduled.
MNA leadership argued that continuing to work while engaging in activism constitutes a form of solidarity. Continuing to provide care is not an absence from this momentit is an act of solidarity. By showing up for patients while standing together in advocacy, nurses are protecting Minnesota's most vulnerable community members in the ways only nurses can, the union told members.
The unions communication leaned heavily on emotional appeals, asserting that immigration enforcement is driving patients away from medical care. As nurses, you see the impact of fear every day. When people delay care or avoid hospitals altogether, outcomes worsennot just for individual patients, but for public health as a whole, the announcement continued, concluding, That reality is why nurses and healthcare workers cannot be silent or absent in moments like this.
Members were encouraged to amplify the protest through social media and symbolic gestures rather than workplace disruption. The union suggested that nurses post a photo or video on social media sharing why you are participating or participate in a community action near you, while also urging participation in the economic blackout by refraining from online shopping and wearing pins in solidarity, provided they were not scheduled to work.
Not all nurses welcomed the overtly political campaign, with some criticizing the unions use of mandatory dues to underwrite left-wing activism. One nurse told Alpha News, MNA & SEIU are as bad as the teachers unions, we are mandated to pay them dues and then they finance their political agenda with it. I remember receiving multiple emails from MNA recruiting RNs to provide first aid services and man supply booths during the George Floyd riots."
The latest call to action comes amid escalating unrest and violence at anti-ICE demonstrations across Minnesota. In recent weeks, left-wing agitators have assaulted multiple people, including one white man who appeared to be attacked at random after being accused of being right-wing, and tensions intensified after the January 7 shooting of activist Renee Good, who drove her car into an ICE agent who then fired his weapon, killing Good.
Footage from these protests has shown physical clashes between demonstrators and federal officers, tear gas deployed in densely populated areas, and a growing number of arrests as authorities attempt to restore order.
Just last week, law enforcement responded to an attack on an ICE officer in which authorities say three illegal immigrants assaulted the agent with a snow shovel and broomstick before the officer fired in self-defense, underscoring the broader question of whether public-sector unions should be leveraging compulsory dues to oppose federal law enforcement rather than supporting the rule of law and community safety.
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