FILE — Clergy members kneel outside Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport's main terminal to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (KSTP/file)
By Kyle Brown, KSTP
Ninety-nine protesters who were arrested last week while demonstrating at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are facing misdemeanor citations, an airport official confirmed.
The protest, organized in large part by local clergy, aimed to draw attention to airline companies contracting with the federal government to remove U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees from Minnesota, either for deportation or for transfer to another ICE facility.
A line of clergy members wearing stoles over their winter coats knelt in the road outside the Terminal 1 passenger drop-off area. A larger crowd of protesters chanted phrases such as “Every city, every town, ICE out, shut it down,” behind a metal barrier on the sidewalk.
Jeff Lea, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Airports Commission, which operates MSP Airport, said protesters had a permit to be there but were arrested when the event went beyond the scope of that permit. Those who were arrested received citations for trespassing and failure to comply with a peace officer.
