Minneapolis group holds singing protests, urges ICE agents to quit their jobs

A musical collective in Minneapolis has been staging a series of singing protests directed at the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, following the fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal agents in the city last month.

The group, known as Singing Resistance, has taken to streets, churches and businesses in Minneapolis, performing songs with themes such as love and community as well as calls to abolish ICE.

According to broadcaster CNN, the singing events began four days after the killing of US citizen Renee Good by an ICE agent on Jan 7, after the agency mounted a major operation in the city to detain and deport undocumented migrants. 

Six days later, about 600 people had gathered to take part.

In a post on Instagram on Monday (Feb 2), Singing Resistance said about 2,000 people had turned up to sing to ICE agents outside a Marriott Residence Inn, urging the hotel chain to stop accommodating federal agents.

"We were 2,000 strong today, singing to ICE agents with one message: Quit your job. Join us on the side of love and humanity," the group wrote.

The post described Minneapolis as being under "federal occupation" and said the city had been experiencing "immense pain, rage, and grief".

"But when they come at us with violence, we fight back with love," the group added, saying it still had "space in our hearts for ICE agents who are willing to walk away from the path of violence and take accountability for harm they've caused".

Singing Resistance said it had been inspired by a Serbian civil resistance movement that played a key role in the overthrow of former president Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.

The group said members of that resistance group, who were often arrested and beaten, would later chant outside police stations and officers' homes, telling them they could "join us tomorrow". 

The Singing Resistance group has also targeted car rental company Enterprise, saying in another Instagram post on Saturday that the firm was "complicit in ICE violence", and alleging that more than half of the vehicles used by ICE in Operation Metro Surge had been rented from the firm.

The operation refers to ICE's crackdown on undocumented migrants in Minnesota.

The group said 30 singers gathered on Saturday evening to hold a vigil outside an Enterprise outlet located seven blocks from where another US citizen Alex Pretti was shot dead by Border Patrol agents the previous weekend.

The vigil spot is also near a Somali business district it said had been repeatedly targeted for immigration enforcement actions.

The group called on Enterprise to immediately recall vehicles contracted to ICE and cancel future agreements.

Lyrics shared by Singing Resistance from its performances include appeals directed at enforcement officers, such as: "It's okay to change your mind, show us your courage, leave this behind."

Outside of protests, the group has also performed in neighbourhoods, bringing music to areas where residents may feel fearful of leaving home.

In a post on Jan 21, the group described a particular performance as being "for our neighbours who are locked inside".

Aside from Singing Resistance, ICE operations have provoked other widespread protests, fuelled by the deaths of Good and Pretti.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump announced that 700 ICE agents would be withdrawn from Minnesota, leaving 2,000 agents in the state.