Anti-ICE protesters call for national action against federal immigration tactics

Protesters across the U.S. on Saturday demonstrated against the federal government’s immigration enforcement tactics in Minneapolis. The group 50501 called on communities to shut “ICE Out of Everywhere” in a national day of action.

The anti-ICE protests include calls for boycotts against retailers and businesses perceived to be in cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In Washington, D.C., a coalition of organizations picketed Target stores. The retailer is headquartered in Minneapolis.

“I want them to see that we are not just standing idly, while our neighbors are being kidnapped. We are standing for our brothers and sisters in Minneapolis,” said Slobodan Milic, wearing his purple Free DC sweatshirt while picketing a Target store along a busy thoroughfare of the city.

Milic’s group Free DC wants Target to publicly call for an independent investigation into the killings of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis earlier this month. The group is also requesting that the retailer publicly affirm solidarity with immigrants and opposition to ICE’s recent immigration operations. Challenges are playing out in federal court.

About two dozen protesters marched on the sidewalk in front of Target in below freezing temperatures and surrounded by mounds of snow. They carried signs and chanted “boycott target,” “ice out,” and “I believe that we will win.”

Toby Harkleroad manned the megaphone. He says he just returned to D.C. from Minneapolis, where he joined faith leaders for a demonstration at Target’s headquarters.

“The most important things are to do something, anything. And to just keep showing up,” he said. “Some of us want this immediate impact, and we’re not going to get immediate impact in this. But our sustained efforts will show impact – are showing impact – and if nothing else, they keep encouraging others,” Harkleroad said.

Protesters in Minnesota have also marched at Target stores and held sit-ins. They say ICE is staging operations in the retailer’s parking lots. Demonstrators want Target to ban ICE from its stores.

In an email to NPR, Target defended its response to the recent turmoil in its home city and highlighted an open letter the company’s incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke signed in partnership with the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and 60 CEOs of businesses in the state. The letter calls for a de-escalation of tensions between local, state, and federal officials.

Videos widely shared earlier this month show federal agents tackling and detaining two Target employees at a store in Richfield, a suburb of Minneapolis. Local media reported the employees are U.S. citizens.

Target declined to comment specifically on the incident, but said it shared with its teams that “Target does not have cooperative agreements with ICE or any other immigration enforcement agency.” The retailer also declined to comment on the requests made by demonstrators on Saturday.

Target has faced repeated calls for boycotts in recent years, including after its rollback of diversity programs.

50501 urged communities to stay home from work, school, and shopping for a National Shutdown on Friday. The coalition is calling for justice for Macklin Good and “all victims of ICE terror.”