Grey’s Anatomy has reportedly paused production on season 22 today due to the “National Shutdown” protest, promoted by University of Minnesota student groups, which aims to put pressure on President Trump to end the ICE immigration crackdown in the city.
After Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally shot by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, the people of the Twin Cities have called for a general strike on Friday, January 30. The shutdown is a “nationwide day of no school, no work, and no shopping,” to “stop ICE’s reign of terror,” as noted by organizers on their website.
According to sources who spoke to Deadline, production on ABC’s long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy is being paused for today as a result of the protest.
The decision to suspend production came “after production learned that crew members working on” the long-series were not going to show up to work on January 30, according to Deadline. So far, no other program has reported shutting down production today.
Sources also told the publication that filming for the show is scheduled to resume on Saturday, January 31.
The Independent has contacted ABC, the network that produces Grey’s Anatomy, for comment.
Nearly a week ago, Pretti, an ICU nurse, was killed by border agents during a protest against the president’s brutal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. Only three weeks prior, Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent after her vehicle blocked a street during an active ICE operation in Minnesota.
Fury over the Trump administration’s handling of Pretti and Good’s deaths has led to calls for a “national shutdown,” which will see thousands of students and employees staying home from school and work.
“The people of the Twin Cities have shown the way for the whole country — to stop ICE’s reign of terror, we need to SHUT IT DOWN,” organizers wrote on their website. “On Friday, January 30, join a nationwide day of no school, no work, and no shopping.”
Several groups are organizing the shutdown today, including multiple associations at the University of Minnesota. The website for the shutdown also listed 250 sites for today’s protests across 46 states, including major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington.
“We are calling for this strike because we believe what we have been doing in Minnesota should go national,” Kidus Yeshidagna, a student and president of the Ethiopian Students Union at the University of Minnesota, said, according to The Guardian. “We need more people and lawmakers across the country to wake up.”
The call for a general strike follows last Friday’s protests when thousands marched through Minneapolis in the bitter cold, urging an end to Trump’s immigration crackdown in their city. Protesters said they want to step up pressure even after Trump said he would “de-escalate a little bit” in Minnesota.
