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Workers push employers for clearer ICE policies
Employees at major Minnesota businesses, including Target, are pressing executives to define how staff should respond if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrive at worksites. Concerns intensified after two workers were detained inside a Target store near Minneapolis last month, an incident captured on video that circulated widely among staff.
Target under scrutiny after store detentions
More than 300 Target employees signed an internal letter urging leadership to publicly address the January arrests and restrict ICE access to company properties. Sandra Macmillan, a 71-year-old cashier, resigned after seeing footage of agents pinning the workers to the ground in the store's entryway. One detainee shouted, "I'm literally a U.S. citizen," during the confrontation.
"I looked online and saw no response from Target," Macmillan told the BBC. "There was no acknowledgment whatsoever."
Target shared safety resources with employees but has not commented publicly on the incident. CEO Michael Fiddelke acknowledged community violence in a late-January video message, stating, "We are doing everything we can to manage what's in our control, always keeping the safety of our team and guests our top priority."
Legal gray areas complicate corporate responses
Companies face legal uncertainty over restricting ICE access to private property. While judicial warrants are required for non-public areas like break rooms, rules for "quasi-public" spaces-such as store floors or parking lots-remain ambiguous.
"It's very difficult for employers, because they want to address employees' concerns but also operate within the law."
Shanon Stevenson, Fisher Phillips partner
Home Depot told the BBC it "cannot legally interfere with federal enforcement agencies," while Target and DR Horton declined to comment. Hilton severed ties with a franchisee after it refused to rent rooms to ICE agents, prompting a Department of Homeland Security rebuke.
Trump administration's "Operation Metro Surge" fuels tensions
The crackdown, part of President Trump's 2024 campaign promises, has deployed thousands of ICE agents to Minneapolis. Officials say the initiative targets undocumented immigrants with criminal records, but critics note U.S. citizens and migrants without records have been detained. Two citizens were fatally shot by federal agents last month.
Workplace raids have become a flashpoint, with activists protesting at Target, Home Depot, and DR Horton. A Twin Cities worker center is urging housing developers to condemn the operations, citing multiple ICE visits to a DR Horton construction site this year.
Employees call for stronger corporate leadership
Over 60 Minnesota firms, including Target, signed a letter urging "de-escalation" but avoided mentioning ICE directly. Workers say the response falls short. A Milwaukee Target employee in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood told the BBC he received no guidance on ICE encounters, calling the silence "discouraging."
Union leaders report growing anxiety among U.S. citizen workers, who fear racial profiling after a September Supreme Court ruling permitting race as a factor in immigration stops. Rena Wong of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 663 said some chains have adopted policies to limit ICE cooperation, but called for bolder action.
"These are some of the biggest economic players in the state. They have the power to demand an end to the raids."
Merle Payne, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha
