Kansas City groups mobilize ahead of national general strike in response to ICE
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas City organizers taking part in national general strike Friday to protest ICE.
- There are several events set to take place across the city in response to ICE.
- Local officials impose a five-year moratorium on detention permits amid ICE activity.
A Kansas City organization is mobilizing ahead of a national general strike Friday, Jan. 30, aimed at protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.
Mitch Schiller, member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation - Kansas City, said that the general strike expansion is in direct response to a funding vote for ICE that is set to hit Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
“It’s adding to this grassroots people-based pressure,” Schiller said. “We in the PSL would say, ‘Abolish ICE,’ but at the very least, hopefully (this changes) the calculus for decision makers, who will see in every major city across the country that there’s substantial walkouts from when it comes from students to businesses shutting down to everything in between, faith leaders, unions. All that kind of stuff happening all at once, creating a massive statement from the people.”
The general strike is also part of a national day of action following ICE enforcement efforts in Minneapolis that resulted in two deaths — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — as well as additional shootings in cities such as Chicago. Both Good and Pretti were shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. Good was a former Kansas City resident.
Protests against ICE in Kansas City
Schiller said the call started with Somali and Black student unions in Minnesota and has caught on quickly, as other cities, such as Kansas City, are set to hold demonstrations stopping economic activity in response to the enforcement operations.
A prior one-day general strike took place in Minneapolis on Jan. 23.
“People are furious in this country,” Schiller said. “I think the people want to do more than what a lot of our so-called leaders are telling us, so we want to provide a space for that.”
Schiller’s group is set to hold its demonstration at 3 p.m. Friday at the World War I memorial in Kansas City.
The demonstration is one of many set for Kansas City throughout the day from various groups. Those events will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at various locations across the city.
Several businesses have also announced that they will shut down in support of the strike.
The group has spent the past week spreading the word to community members at various organizing events.
KC efforts faced weather challenge
Schiller said efforts to spread awareness have been successful, even with the challenges presented by the weather that hit Kansas City last weekend.
“All three meetings that we had, we filled the room in all three cases,” Schiller said. “So people were really hungry for this information. They really want to be part of a historic general strike. We know that this hasn’t really happened in multiple decades, and it’s something that all workers should know about, because that’s where our power is.”
ICE operations have been increasing in the Kansas City area over the last few weeks, with a possible detention center site being identified in the southern portion of the city. Organizers have also been working on ways to try and stop the sale of the facility, but the company who owns the building, Platform Ventures, said previously that negotiations are complete.
City officials have responded to the increase in activity by enacting a five-year moratorium on permits for detention facilities by non-city entities. County officials are also working on a similar plan to try and stop the ICE detention facility.
However, it’s still unclear whether that moratorium would hold up in court.
There was at least one arrest made in Grandview by ICE that was captured on video, and several ICE vehicles were seen in a Northland parking lot, which were being worked on by a local company and not part of any local operation.
