United States in January 2026: the most important developments in society
In January 2026, US social news was led by protests over President Donald Trump's wish to acquire Greenland. On 17 and 18 January thousands rallied in Copenhagen, Nuuk and across Greenland under the slogan "Hands off Greenland", and "Make America Go Away" red caps became a symbol of the campaign. Polls found that between one in five and one in four Americans supported the idea, and Greenlanders remained sceptical after Trump's Davos speech.
Immigration enforcement was the largest theme at home. After an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis on 7 January, protests spread to cities including Portland and Los Angeles, with demonstrators calling for the agency to be abolished. Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act on 15 January. Minnesota organisers held an economic blackout on 23 January, closing hundreds of businesses. After federal agents shot and killed nurse Alex Pretti, the administration softened its tone, and Border Patrol head Gregory Bovino was reassigned away from the city. Ilhan Omar was sprayed with an unknown liquid at a town hall on 28 January, and on 30 and 31 January thousands joined a national "ICE Out" day of action. A Fox News poll found 59% of voters saw ICE as too aggressive. Separately, the US suspended immigrant visa processing for 75 countries from 21 January.
Protests in Iran were followed closely. Trump told demonstrators to keep protesting and said help was on the way. Death toll estimates ranged between about 550 and nearly 6,000, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed Trump and Israel.
Other items included the completed US withdrawal from the World Health Organization on 22 January and from the Paris Climate Agreement, a change to the childhood vaccine schedule that cut the number of recommended shots, and a winter storm that affected an estimated 180 million people, led to emergency declarations in 17 states, and was linked to at least 30 deaths.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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