Protesters rally at Los Angeles-area Home Depot locations against ongoing ICE raids

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Demonstrators are standing with day laborers against immigration raids following the death of a worker who was hit by a car while running from agents last week.

Demonstrators rallied on Sunday at several Home Depot locations across Southern California, which have become a familiar target for immigration raids as day laborers gather outside the stores looking for work.

Home Depot stores have been at the center of many ICE raids. For weeks, we’ve seen videos of agents detaining people on the properties. Now, protesters are demanding the raids stop.

On Sunday, there were rallies and protests at the Home Depot near downtown Los Angeles and in Upland.

Organizers say the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is violating a court order that made it illegal to detain people based on their race, ethnicity and language.

They are calling for a nationwide boycott of Home Depot and want customers to voice their concerns to store managers.

“No complicity in Trump’s thuggery, no bigotry attacking our democracy and the democratic process, and no cruelty that, unfortunately, has become rampant and is being normalized by irresponsible corporate actors like Home Depot,” said Hans Johnson, the president of the East Area Progressive Democrats.

Sunday’s protests come after Carlos Montoya was hit and killed on the 210 Freeway in Monrovia.

Last week, witnesses say the 52-year-old was trying to flee an ICE raid in the Home Depot parking lot. DHS says the victim was not being pursued by agents at the time of his death.

As for Home Depot, a spokesperson said in recent weeks the company is not told in advance about any raids and that its stores are required to follow all federal and local laws.