Nationwide US protest strike begins amid DOJ investigation into Pretti killing

Nationwide Strike Called for ‘No Work, No School, No Shopping’ Amid Immigration Crackdown

A nationwide strike has been organized by various activist groups in the United States, with protesters calling for a three-day halt to work, school, and shopping. The strike, which began on Friday, is in response to the President Donald Trump administration’s deportation drive.

The strike comes after two US citizens were killed by immigration enforcement agents in Minnesota earlier this month. The US Department of Justice has announced it will conduct a civil rights probe into one of the killings, but not the other. The killings occurred during a surge of immigration agents deployed to Minnesota to target alleged fraud in the Somali American community.

US Representative Ilhan Omar has endorsed the strike, stating that protesters are “changing the world.” The Trump administration had falsely claimed that one of the victims had brandished a gun at immigration agents before being fatally shot. However, video analysis suggests otherwise.

Protesters gathered at Howard University in Washington, DC, on Friday, planning to march to the White House. Students in Arizona and Colorado cancelled schools in anticipation of mass absences. In Michigan, dozens of students walked out of morning classes to protest ICE’s actions.

The strike is part of a growing movement against the Trump administration’s deportation drive, which has seen immigration agents use dragnet techniques to reach increased detention quotas. The FBI will take over the investigation into one of the killings from the Department of Homeland Security.

Source: Al Jazeera