‘ICE Out’ national event leads to protests, small business closures across Vermont

Several thousand people gather for a protest against the Immigration Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) on Church Street in Burlington on Friday, Jan. 30. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Updated at 6:14 p.m. A nationwide call to protest President Trump’s violent immigration crackdown led Vermonters to take to the streets and small business owners to close their doors across the state Friday. In Vermont, at least 16 small businesses announced that they would be closing for all or part of the day in response to the “ICE Out” movement, according to social media posts and newsletters from local businesses. At least six others announced that they would remain open but donate a portion of their proceeds to pro-immigrant or Minneapolis-related causes. “Standing with Minneapolis in this pretty astoundingly difficult time … is the simplest of things we can do,” said Xavier Jimenez, co-owner of Buch Spieler Records in Montpelier, one of the businesses that decided to close Friday. The “ICE Out” movement began as an effort to demonstrate resistance against the actions of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis, according to a website for the event. The movement called for “No work. No school. No shopping.” “The entire country is shocked
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