Target Store Staff Are Skipping Work Over ICE's Crackdown in Minnesota
The retailer hasn’t made any public comments about the aggressive immigration operations and protests enveloping its hometown
Anti-ICE demonstrators protest inside a Target store in Minnesota on Jan. 19.
Photographer: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Target Corp. was hoping for a fresh start with a new chief executive officer, but an immigration crackdown in its hometown Minneapolis is putting the retailer back in a familiar position: confronting a political maelstrom that’s disrupting operations.
After immigration officials briefly detained two Target employees who are US citizens from a Richfield, Minnesota, store this month, some retail staffers started calling out of work at several locations in the Twin Cities area. Meanwhile, some teams have postponed planned in-office weeks at headquarters. And local faith leaders have demanded the company ban federal agents from its stores and parking lots and issue a statement clearly condemning the enforcement operation. Outgoing CEO Brian Cornell is set to meet with them Thursday, according to the delegation.