Minnesota
Target workers and allies picket in front of the Dinkytown location in Minneapolis on January 30.

Why Target is at the Center of an ICE-Out Campaign in Minnesota

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ICE Out of MN, a coalition of unions, worker centers, and community organizations, is putting pressure on Minnesota’s corporations that stayed silent as thousands of federal immigration agents wreaked havoc on the state.The coalition is focusing its efforts on Target, a “home-grown” corporation, that once proudly championed progressive causes and local philanthropy, and has since rolled those commitments back, and donated $1 million to President Trump’s 2025 inauguration. 

The coalition is leading a corporate pressure campaign to urge the company to take steps to protect workers and use its political and economic capital to lobby against ICE. While ICE activity has decreased since its peak in Minnesota, detentions continue, and organizers are outraged that Target has stayed silent, even as ICE has come on its property. In January, two Target workers were violently detained while on the job at a Richfield, Minn., location. The workers were both U.S. citizens. 

Target, along with over 60 CEOs and other corporate leaders in Minnesota, published a brief letter on the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce website, asking for “de-escalation” the day after the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis. Organizers from the ICE Out of MN coalition argue that the letter is insufficient and does not directly ask for the end of ICE activity in the state. Workday Magazine reached out to Target for comment and did not receive a response by the deadline.

Minnesota
Restaurant workers rally outside the Minnesota Hospitality building in downtown Minneapolis.

Waiters, Cooks, and Bartenders Are Calling on Hospitality Industry to Ban ICE From Minnesota Restaurants

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On February 13, restaurant workers rallied outside the Hospitality Minnesota building in downtown Minneapolis to deliver a Valentine’s Day card asking industry leaders to ban ICE from restaurants. The workers also want stronger protocols for protections at restaurants, and know-your-rights trainings for restaurant workers on the front lines. It’s not radical to refuse service to agents who are threatening and at times killing our community members,” said Jake, a line cook at prominent Minneapolis restaurants. The rally was organized by the “86 ICE” coalition, supported by Restaurant Opportunities Center of Minnesota (ROC MN and Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL), which includes both front- and back-of-house restaurant workers and restaurant owners. The number “86” refers to restaurant and bar patrons who are kicked out of an establishment.

On January 30, educators and children from the Twin Cities demonstrated in front of the governor's mansion in St. Paul, Minn. One sign reads, "This student's family self-deported."

Demand Grows for Statewide Eviction Moratorium in Minnesota

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On January 30, educators and children from the Twin Cities demonstrated in front of the governor’s mansion in St. Paul, Minn., led by rank-and-file members of Minneapolis Federation of Educators (MFE) Local 59, to demand that Gov. Tim Walz enact a statewide eviction moratorium. On the same day, a press conference was held in front of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) building in downtown Minneapolis, calling on the agency to pause evictions proceedings while ICE activity continues across the state. Activists say that the federal deployment of masked, armed federal agents to the state has made the eviction moratorium urgent. While ICE officials have announced a drawback of ICE activity in Minnesota, some argue that the economic damage has already been done, and that many will be scrambling to keep up with rent payments in the coming months. 

“A lot of people just can’t get to and from work because ICE has been stopping random cars on the road, largely based on what they think the skin color of the driver is,” says Klyde Warren, a Minneapolis renter and tenant organizer with Investment Property Group (IPG) and the Twin Cities Tenants Union.

Trabajadores de la construcción y sus aliados se reunieron en el vestíbulo de D.R. Horton en Lakeville, Minnesota, para exigir a las promotoras inmobiliarias que tomen medidas contra las redadas del ICE en las obras de construcción.

Trabajadores de la construcción ocupan el vestíbulo de una promotora inmobiliaria y exigen medidas contra las redadas del ICE en las obras.

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El 21 de enero, trabajadores de la construcción y aliados de la comunidad cantaron, corearon consignas y marcharon hacia las oficinas de D.R. Horton, que, según los organizadores, es la mayor promotora inmobiliaria de viviendas unifamiliares del país. Su objetivo era entregar cartas en las que pedían a la empresa que protegiera a los trabajadores contra las redadas del ICE. En menos de 15 minutos, por lo menos siete agentes de policía de Lakeville llegaron al lugar y ordenaron a la multitud que abandonara las instalaciones. Los manifestantes dejaron la pila de cartas en el vestíbulo y continuaron la concentración en el exterior. La acción fue organizada por el Centro de Trabajadores Unidos En La Lucha (CTUL), un centro de trabajadores, y formaba parte de una iniciativa a nivel nacional para pedir a D.R. Horton que tomara medidas tras las denuncias de detenciones de trabajadores de la construcción por parte del ICE en las obras.

Immigration
On January 21, construction workers and community allies sang, chanted, and marched into the offices of D.R. Horton, which organizers say is the largest developer of single family homes in the country.

Construction Workers Occupy Lobby of a Developer, Demand Action Against ICE Raids on Job Sites

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On January 21, construction workers and community allies sang, chanted, and marched into the offices of D.R. Horton, which organizers say is the largest developer of single family homes in the country. They aimed to deliver letters asking the company to protect workers against ICE raids. Within 15 minutes, at least seven Lakeville police arrived and ordered the crowd to leave the premises. Marchers left the stack of letters in the lobby and continued the rally outside. 

The action was organized by Centro de Trabajadores Unidos En La Lucha (CTUL), a worker center, and it was part of a nation-wide effort calling on D.R. Horton to take action after reports of ICE detaining construction workers on construction job sites. Similar actions were held across the country, including in Atlanta, Ga., Nashville and Knoxville, Tenn., and Baton Rouge and Lafayette, La. 

Workday Magazine spoke with Alexander, a construction worker who specializes in siding and is a member of CTUL.

Immigration
Twin Cities postal workers with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 9 gathered at the post office on Lake Street in South Minneapolis to demand ICE discontinue its use of postal property and that ICE leave Minnesota.

“Protect Our Routes, Get ICE Out”: Postal Workers Rally in Minneapolis

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Twin Cities postal workers with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 9 gathered at the post office on Lake Street in South Minneapolis on January 18 to demand U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) discontinue its use of postal property—and leave Minnesota. The crowd of over 200 union members and allies marched down Lake Street to the block where 37-year-old mother and poet Renee Good was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross a few weeks before. 

Speakers at the rally showed their support for the upcoming January 23 shutdown planned across Minnesota. Dozens of Minnesota unions and workers centers have joined the call for “no work, no school, no shopping” on Friday. Emmet Bongaarts, a postal worker and NALC Branch 9 member, said postal workers have been first-hand witnesses and responders to ICE’s “reign of terror” across Minnesota in recent weeks. Bongaarts’ route runs through the Central neighborhood in South Minneapolis, close to where Good was killed.

On the corner of Bloomington and 31st Street in South Minneapolis, workers with Metro Transit and allies held up a sign that read, “Minnesotans were abducted here.

Metro Transit Workers Rally at Bus Stop Where ICE Abduction Took Place, Demand ICE Not Interfere with Transit Operations

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On the corner of Bloomington Avenue and 31st Street in South Minneapolis, workers with Metro Transit and allies held up a sign that read, “Minnesotans were abducted here.” It was the morning of January 14, and they were part of a press conference protesting a violent detention at the bus stop in broad daylight on January 10, witnessed by a Metro Transit bus operator. Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) 1005 says a driver witnessed ICE create a chaotic scene, blocking traffic, removing individuals from their cars, and blocking the bus from proceeding through the intersection. It was part of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown on Minnesota that has sent masked, armed federal agents throughout the state. 

Metro Transit workers are calling on ICE to not interfere with transit operations, according to a press release from ATU 1005. David Stiggers, president of the union, said at the press conference that ICE activity in Minneapolis is “a throwback to the darkest times of human history, 1940s Germany.”  

In another incident, a Somali-American Metro Transit worker was detained on December 2, according to the union, and was held in ICE detention for over a month. The bus operator was transferred to Iowa and then Nebraska, then returned home on January 6, according to the union, which says his detention was unlawful.

Immigration
Christin Crabtree, a Minneapolis Public School (MPS) parent speaks at the Friday press conference. Crabtree witnessed the ICE events at Roosevelt High School on Wednesday.

Minneapolis Teachers, Parents Denounce Federal Agents’ Assault at Roosevelt High, Demand ICE Leave

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On Friday morning, around 150 parents, students, and educators gathered for a press conference at Lake Hiawatha Park in South Minneapolis to demand ICE leave Minneapolis. The event took place two days after federal agents detained an on-duty school staffer and member of the Minneapolis Federation of Educators (MFE) at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis. Only a few hours after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Minneapolis resident and mother Renee Good on January 7, federal immigration enforcement agents descended onto Roosevelt High School property during school dismissal as students were exiting the building. MFE members say that ICE agents tackled and detained a school staff member and union member who was working at the time. The MFE member was since released, according to a union spokesperson.

Prison Labor
Jermale Kling, a formerly incarcerated worker at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater, Minn., calls on Anagram, subcontracted by Disney, to pay incarcerated workers minimum wage.

Minnesota Labor Coalition Demands Disney Subcontractor Pay Incarcerated Workers Minimum Wage

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On December 11, a coalition of formerly incarcerated workers and Minnesota unions gathered at the United Labor Center in Minneapolis to demand Anagram International, LLC, a Minnesota-based balloon manufacturer and subcontractor for Disney, increase pay for incarcerated workers to the state’s minimum wage. The workers are currently paid at a rate of 90 cents per hour, while Minnesota’s state minimum wage is $11.13. 

The coalition, led by the non-profit End Slavery in Minnesota, aims to reclassify prisoners as workers and ensure minimum wage pay and benefits for all incarcerated workers across Minnesota. 

“I stand here today not just for myself but for thousands of people inside still making pennies, choosing between soap and a ten-minute phone call to a loved one,” said Jermale Kling, a formerly incarcerated worker at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater, Minn., at a press conference. Kling worked at an upholstery shop and for Anagram, and explained that because of the low wages, he would average $7 per day of work—barely enough to buy a bar of soap. While the 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution abolished slavery in 1865, the amendment includes one exception for forced labor “as a punishment for crime.” End Slavery in Minnesota’s goal is to amend the Minnesota state constitution to reclassify incarcerated workers to ensure the same labor protections as any other worker. 

According to a press release sent this week from the coalition, “Incarcerated workers are making just $0.90 an hour, while supporting a company worth nearly $200 billion,” in reference to Disney. 

A press conference was hosted by Central Florida Jobs with Justice earlier this month in Florida, also calling out Disney for its use of prison labor to produce its balloons. Other union and worker center coalition members of End Slavery in Minnesota include the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters (NCSRCC), Minnesota AFL-CIO, Saint Paul Federation of Educators, Minneapolis Federation of Educators (MFE), and the Minneapolis chapter of the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP). 

Chauntyll Allen, an organizer with End Slavery in Minnesota, said at the press conference that paying incarcerated workers minimum wage would allow workers to better support their families, keep up with child support, restitution payments, and decrease recidivism rates.