By Giulia CarbonaroShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberProtests against Home Depot’s alleged involvement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) worksite raids have taken the form of disruptive “buy-ins” in at least one California store, with people lining up to purchase 17-cent ice scrapers only to return them immediately.
Newsweek contacted Home Depot by email early on Monday, outside of standard working hours, for comment.
Why It Matters
Under the direction of President Donald Trump, who during his 2024 presidential campaign promised to initiate mass deportation of illegal immigrants in his second term, ICE has adopted more aggressive tactics against immigrants and those who oppose their actions.
Across the country, especially in traditionally liberal cities, this has led to tense confrontations with members of the public, who have led anti-ICE protests and boycotts of companies allegedly allowing federal agents to raid their stores—including Home Depot.
Crucially, Home Depot has recently rejected claims that it has coordinated with ICE to allow the raids at the company’s stores, writing on X in response to a user accusing them of being involved with the operations: “This is untrue—we aren’t coordinating with ICE.” Protesters, however, argue that the company has failed to protect staff and customers on its premises.
...What To Know
A video shared on social media shows a long line of customers inside a Home Depot store in Monrovia, California, on Saturday waiting to purchase an ice scraper priced at 17 cents at the automatic cashiers. Many of the customers can be seen wearing stickers on their clothes reading “ICE out of the Home Depot.”
The strategy, a post on Reddit accompanying the video says, is to return the relatively inexpensive item immediately “to clog the lines and bring the store to a stop in an effort to disrupt sales and send a message against ICE raids in their community.”
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According to the Los Angeles Times, nearly one hundred people participated in the “buy-in” action. Protesters are demanding that Home Depot prevent immigration raids from taking place at its locations.
While ICE agents have been spotted in Home Depots across the country, it is not by chance that protesters have picked the Monrovia store for their latest demonstration. The protest was partly in response to the recent death of immigrant day laborer Carlos Roberto Montoya Valdez, who was struck and killed by a vehicle in Monrovia as he was running away from federal agents in mid-August.
Newsweek contacted the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, which coordinated the protest in Monrovia, by email early on Monday, outside of standard working hours, for comment.
What People Are Saying
Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, told the LA Times: “Whether the corporation wants to admit it or not, Home Depot has become ground zero for this cruel, vicious immigration enforcement that’s taking place in our country.”
George Lane, manager of corporate communications for Home Depot, told the newspaper in an email: “We are not coordinating with ICE or Border Patrol, and we’re not involved in the operations. We aren’t notified that immigration enforcement activities are going to happen, and often, we don’t know operations have taken place until they’re over.
“We’re required to follow all federal and local rules and regulations in every market where we operate.”
What Happens Next
Home Depot has traditionally hired day laborers, including many who are immigrants—which makes it a key target for ICE worksite raids. In statements made in October, the company said it was supporting employees and associates through what it understands is a “complex community issue,” as Block Club Chicago reported.
In an email to the news site, Home Depot spokesperson Beth Marlowe said that, while they are not notified of ICE operations and are not involved in them, they offer support to affected staff members. “If associates feel uncomfortable after witnessing ICE activity, we offer them the flexibility they need to take care of themselves and their families, which often include the ability to go home for the day, with pay,” she said.
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