The company\u2019s stores have historically been a place where day laborers, including many immigrants, have gathered outside to look for work from contract companies \u2014 but those workers have now been repeatedly targeted by federal agents. Organizers have said Home Depot isn\u2019t doing enough to deter ICE and Border Patrol and to protect day laborers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a larger-scale corporation, you would hope that they would want to protect the life of their company: people who patronize it, people who work there and even folks who use their materials to be able to work,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n
The Latino Union of Chicago, which supports day laborers, is hosting a rally Saturday at a Northwest Side Home Depot, 1919 N. Cicero Ave., according to a social media post<\/a>, and vigils are planned this weekend at several other stores in the Chicago area.<\/p>\n \u201cWe demand that Home Depot protect workers, not partner with ICE! Together we say: No more raids. No more silence. ICE Out!\u201d the post reads.<\/p>\n Miller is organizing a vigil for 9 a.m. Saturday at the Broadview Home Depot, 700 Broadview Village Square, in solidarity with the National Day Laborers Organizing Network.<\/p>\n Workers Targeted<\/p>\n Back of the Yards\u2019 Home Depot at 4555 S. Western Blvd. has become a \u201chot spot\u201d for detentions of jornaleros, or day laborers, since the start of operations Midway Blitz and At Large, local organizers said.<\/p>\n During the first days of Operation Midway Blitz, federal agents detained at least five people in that Home Depot\u2019s parking lot<\/a>, Karina Martinez, communications director for the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, previously said. A vehicle left behind by a person who was detained was towed from the store\u2019s parking lot, organizers previously said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s sad because people are there searching for work, and now they\u2019re not coming home,\u201d Omar, a witness to those detentions, previously said.<\/p>\n Federal agents have continued to target this Home Depot in addition to stores on the Northwest Side<\/a> and in suburbs like Cicero<\/a> and Niles<\/a>, according to reports by local rapid response groups. This month, federal agents detained Ruben Torres Maldonado<\/a>, the father of a Chicago high school student who has a rare form of cancer,<\/a> outside a Home Depot in Niles. A judge ordered his release and he was reunited with his family Thursday night.<\/a><\/p>\n In response, organizers have called for people to boycott the company, saying it has not taken steps to stop federal agents from staging and detaining people in the stores\u2019 parking lots.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are just hard-working people looking for jobs, and Home Depot is doing nothing about that,\u201d said Evelyn Aguayo, community organizer and legal aid supervisor for Back of the Yards nonprofit Increase the Peace.<\/p>\n While the company does not have a formal relationship with the workers, it financially benefits from their presence near stores, an expert told NPR.<\/a><\/p>\n Home Depot spokesperson Beth Marlowe, in an emailed statement, said the company\u2019s stores are \u201cnot notified that ICE activities are going to happen, and we aren\u2019t involved in the operations.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWe tell associates not to engage with the activity for their safety and to report these incidents immediately,\u201d Marlowe said in the statement.<\/p>\n The detentions outside Home Depot locations are seemingly done at random, with agents taking people who are looking for work or who are going into the store to shop.<\/p>\n That\u2019s at odds with the supposed mission of the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown, as officials previously said agents would \u201ctarget the worst of the worst criminal\u201d undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n And the detentions have not been limited to Illinois.<\/p>\n Federal agents have frequently targeted the company\u2019s stores in California and other states, detaining day workers and U.S. citizens, according to news reports. <\/p>\n In California, a Guatemalan man was fatally struck by a driver while attempting to flee an immigration raid at a Home Depot, according to local news reports. <\/a><\/p>\n In June, federal agents emerged from a rented van to detain day laborers at a Home Depot in central Los Angeles, \u201cterrorizing\u201d workers, customers and vendors near the home improvement store, The Guardian reported.<\/a> And a U.S. citizen sued the Department of Homeland Security after he was thrown to the ground and arrested while recording a raid at a Home Depot, according to NBC Los Angeles.<\/a><\/p>\n Miguel Alvelo, executive director of the Latino Union of Chicago, previously said that ICE agents were making \u201cunwarranted attacks\u201d on day laborers \u201cwho build, paint, fix and beautify this city.\u201d<\/p>\n Neighbors and organizers are calling on others to instead shop at small, local businesses that are doing more to protect their workers, customers and employees.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more locally you shop, the better chance you\u2019ll have of being safe, because the person that owns that business lives in your neighborhood and cares about you,\u201d said Jaime Groth-Searle, founder and executive director of The Southwest Collective.<\/p>\n Home Depot said it is supporting its employees. <\/p>\n \u201cWe understand this is a complex community issue and are focused on supporting our associates,\u201d Marlowe said in the statement. \u201cIf 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\u00a0to go\u00a0home\u00a0for the day, with pay.\u201d<\/p>\n Billionaire and Home Depot cofounder Bernard \u201cBernie\u201d Marcus, who died last year, was a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump and donated more than $1 million to his campaigns<\/a>. Co-founder Ken Langone has also expressed his support<\/a> for the president and his policies. <\/p>\n Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/strong><\/p>\n \t![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/DSC_1186-1024x678.jpg\")
The Home Depot, 4555 S. Western Blvd., where several people have been detained by federal agents amid operations Midway Blitz and At Large, as seen on Sept. 26, 2025. Credit: Francia Garcia Hernandez\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/miguel-2-1024x683.jpeg\")
Miguel Alvelo from Latino Union speaks at a press conference to stand up against ICE in immigrant communities across from a Home Depot in Belmont Cragin on Sept. 18, 2025. Credit: Ariel Parrella-Aureli\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n