2,000 Minnesotans Sing to ICE Agents: 'Join Us Anytime

When 2,000 people gathered outside a Minneapolis Residence Inn on a cold Monday, they didn't come with anger or violence. They came with song.

The group, called Singing Resistance, sang directly to ICE agents inside the hotel with a simple invitation: quit your job and join us. "It's okay to change your mind / Show us your courage / Leave this behind," they harmonized, bundled against the Minnesota winter.

Their approach is inspired by Otpor, a Serbian resistance movement that successfully overthrew a dictatorship in 2000. When Otpor members were arrested and beaten, they showed up at police stations singing, "You may not join us today, but you can join us tomorrow." In the final hours of their revolution, police and military refused orders to fire on massive crowds because they didn't want to be on the wrong side of history.

"Under federal occupation, Minneapolis has been going through immense pain, rage, and grief," organizers shared. "But when they come at us with violence, we fight back with love."

The Twin Cities chapter began street performances four days after resident Renee Good was killed. Within a week, 600 people joined them in song.

One organizer explained to CNN why they sing "I Am Not Afraid" in both English and Spanish. "Song is a vehicle for us to grieve, to feel rage, to strengthen ourselves," she said. "We're not singing it because we're actually not afraid. It's terrifying what is happening. It's a way to gather our courage."

The movement has expanded beyond immigration enforcement. The group also performs outside Enterprise car rental locations, asking them to break ties with border patrol, and outside Marriott hotels housing federal agents.

The Ripple Effect

Singing Resistance has released a free digital songbook so people across the country can organize their own musical protests. They're also holding virtual trainings to help communities build coalitions of resistance singers.

The toolkit they've shared emphasizes nonviolence, safety preparation, and community care. "Singing Resistance is building a mass movement of singers to protect and care for our communities in the face of rising authoritarianism," it reads.

Sometimes they sing in neighborhoods to lift spirits of those afraid to leave home. Sometimes they gather in churches and at vigils. Each performance carries the same message: beloved communities coming together in defense of life, where all are loved and cared for.

Their welcoming message to ICE agents reveals the heart of their movement: love and acceptance, not hate. While anger pulses through their songs, the driving force is always love and the belief that people can choose differently.

What started as one community's grief has become a blueprint for peaceful resistance through the simple, powerful act of singing together.