In Target’s hometown of Minneapolis, a sweeping federal immigration surge has turned the retailer’s stores and parking lots into reluctant stages for confrontation.
After immigration officers briefly detained two Target employees who are U.S. citizens outside a Richfield store this month, workers at several Twin Cities locations began calling out, Bloomberg News reported, even as protests spread from suburban outlets to the company’s downtown headquarters and beyond.
Richfield Detentions Spark Fear
The Richfield incident, first documented in viral videos and detailed by the Wall Street Journal and local outlets, showed two Target workers shouting that they were U.S. citizens as federal officers forced them into vehicles outside the store entrance.
Those brief detentions have become a rallying point for labor and faith groups, who say the episode confirmed long‑simmering fears that immigration agents are sweeping up citizens and noncitizens alike at workplaces.
Anger At Federal Raids
Outrage intensified after ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot 37‑year‑old U.S. citizen Renée Good in Minneapolis during an enforcement operation earlier this month, according to CNN and public records.
Good’s killing, now the subject of dueling federal and local investigations, is cited by protesters as proof that the Minnesota surge has tipped from immigration enforcement into lethal overreach, leaving many residents afraid to leave home or drive to work.
Operation Metro Surge
Federal officials say the Minnesota crackdown is part of “Operation Metro Surge,” deploying roughly 2,000 Department of Homeland Security and ICE personnel to the Twin Cities to pursue alleged welfare and childcare fraud tied to the Somali-American community, CBS News reported.
While prosecutors point to large Covid-era fraud cases, immigrant advocates argue the government is using those scandals to justify door-to-door raids and street-level sweeps that sweep lawful residents into custody.
More Than 100 Clergy Occupy Target
Last week, more than 100 clergy from across Minnesota streamed into Target’s downtown Minneapolis headquarters, sat down in the lobby, and refused to leave for seven hours, Fox 9 reported.
The faith leaders prayed, sang “This Little Light of Mine,” and livestreamed the sit‑in while demanding a face‑to‑face meeting with CEO Brian Cornell about ICE activity on company property and the Richfield detentions.
Fourth Amendment Workplaces
Organizers with the multifaith coalition ISAIAH said clergy delivered a letter signed by hundreds of religious leaders urging Target to publicly call for an end to the ICE “surge,” support legal accountability for the agent who killed Renee Good, and declare its stores “Fourth Amendment workplaces” where immigration agents are barred without a judicial warrant.
They are also pushing Target to lobby Congress to stop funding ICE, according to their public statements and press materials.
Target’s Memo
Internally, Target has tried to calm rising anxiety without directly confronting federal authorities. In a memo obtained by Bloomberg and Business Insider, Chief Human Resources Officer Melissa Kremer told employees the company does not have cooperative agreements with immigration agencies and said security teams are preparing for “expected disruptions” near stores.
“While we can’t control everything happening around us, we are focused on what we can control,” she wrote. “We’re listening and working to de‑escalate where possible — while staying clear on what we need to safely operate our business and care for our team.”
Workers Told Not To Interfere With ICE
At the same time, internal guidance directs Target store staff not to interfere with or block federal agents and instead focus on de‑escalation, according to documents described by Bloomberg.
Some employees have used Slack channels to vent about corporate silence and circulated a letter to Target’s ethics office seeking clearer instructions, those reports said, while certain corporate teams have postponed planned in‑office weeks at headquarters until tensions ease.
West St. Paul Sit‑In Turn Shoppers Into Disruptors
On the ground, shoppers have joined workers in low-level disruption campaigns. Local outlet Bring Me The News reported that activists encouraged customers at Twin Cities Targets to buy large bags of sidewalk salt—“to melt ICE”—then slowly return them, over and over, to gum up customer-service lines.
Separate protests saw a large group occupy a Target in West St. Paul, singing anti‑ICE songs and demanding that the company bar federal agents from staging in its lots, according to Bring Me The News and Yahoo News.
Target Feels The Economic Chill
Target employs about 35,000 people in Minnesota and ranks as the state’s fourth-largest employer, according to state economic data and local business reports. With workers calling out and some shoppers staying home, the stakes extend well beyond one company.
The CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council, Adam Duininck, told the Los Angeles Times that falling foot traffic linked to the ICE surge will have a “chilling impact” on downtown’s fragile recovery after the pandemic and the 2020 George Floyd unrest.
Businesses Hit As People Stay Home
The same Bloomberg-linked reporting found that restaurants and hotels have been among the hardest hit by the federal operation and the community’s response, as both employees and patrons avoid downtown, airports, and shopping districts.
Business owners told national and local outlets that fear of surprise raids—at schools, workplaces, and even parking lots—has quietly emptied dining rooms and hotel lobbies, underscoring how immigration crackdowns can ripple far beyond those directly targeted for arrest.
Day Of Truth And Freedom
Faith leaders, unions, and immigrant-rights organizations have now escalated to a statewide economic protest. At a Minneapolis news conference, organizers announced a “Day of Truth and Freedom” on January 23, urging Minnesotans to skip work, school, and shopping to demand ICE leave the state and the agent who killed Renee Good face criminal charges, CBS Minnesota reported.
Minneapolis Public Schools canceled classes that day, treating it as a teacher workday as students shifted to remote options.
Thousands March To Target Center
On the day of action, thousands of people marched through downtown Minneapolis in subzero temperatures, then rallied inside the Target Center Arena, according to CBS Minnesota.
An estimated hundreds of businesses closed in solidarity for what organizers called an “economic blackout” or general strike. Labor leaders said the goal was to leverage collective economic power to force both federal officials and major employers—including Target—to confront the human cost of the surge.
From DEI Backlash To Immigration Firestorm
This latest crisis lands as Target is still managing political whiplash from earlier fights over Pride merchandise and scaled‑back diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that alienated some progressive shoppers, as reported by national business outlets.
Analysts say the retailer is again trying to straddle a line: complying with federal law and keeping stores safe, while avoiding a public stance on ICE that could spark new boycotts from the right or deepen anger from immigrant and civil-rights groups on the left.
Michael Fiddelke Inherits A Brand Under Siege
The turmoil also sets the stage for a high-stakes leadership transition. Brian Cornell is scheduled to step down as CEO on February 1, 2026, with Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke taking over and Cornell becoming executive chair, according to Target’s corporate announcements and securities filings.
As Minnesota clergy press Cornell for concrete commitments and workers demand clearer protections, Fiddelke will inherit a hometown brand caught between federal power, frightened employees, and a community insisting that silence is no longer an option.
Sources:
“Target store staff are skipping work over ICE’s crackdown in Minnesota” — Bloomberg
“More than 100 clergy members stage sit-in at Target headquarters” — Bring Me The News
“How ICE raids in Minnesota connect to a years-old fraud scandal” — NBC News
“Target employees detained by federal officers were U.S. citizens” — Star Tribune
“Minnesota is holding an economic blackout on January 23 to protest ICE: What to know about the ‘Day of Truth and Freedom'” — Yahoo News
“Killing of Renée Good” — Wikipedia