Target employees skip work as ICE crackdown rattles Minnesota stores: report
Employees at Target stores across the Minneapolis–St. Paul area have been missing work at higher rates in recent weeks, following the arrest of two coworkers who were caught up in immigration raids despite being U.S. citizens.
At the same time, Target’s corporate staff — based in the Twin Cities — have delayed planned returns to the office by several weeks, citing escalating tensions in Minneapolis. The city has become a focal point for confrontations between federal immigration agents and protesters.
According to Bloomberg News, unease has been growing within the company as employees say Target’s lack of public response has left them uncertain and anxious while enforcement actions continue near their workplaces. Workers have reportedly taken to internal Slack channels to express fear and anger, and some have shared a letter with the company’s ethics team requesting clearer instructions on how to respond if they encounter federal agents on the job.
Internally, Target has told employees that it does not have any formal cooperation agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Workers have been advised not to interfere with federal agents, sources told Bloomberg. Staff have also been instructed to prioritize de-escalation and to understand that agents are legally allowed in public areas such as parking lots and sales floors, but may not enter non-public spaces like stockrooms without a warrant.
At several Twin Cities locations, employees have told managers they were too frightened to come to work after seeing immigration agents in store parking lots or inside nearby retail spaces, according to people familiar with the situation.
Employees remain divided over how the company should respond. Some have argued internally that staying neutral is the safest approach, warning that publicly opposing immigration enforcement could draw increased attention from federal authorities and further disrupt staffing and store operations.
Tensions in the Twin Cities have been especially high since Jan. 7, when an ICE agent fatally shot Renée Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, during an immigration enforcement operation in south Minneapolis. The following day, federal agents entered a Target store in Richfield and briefly detained two employees — both 17-year-old U.S. citizens — while they were working in the parking lot and vestibule, according to local officials and video footage.
In one recording, a teenager can be heard yelling that he is a U.S. citizen as he is taken to the ground and placed into a federal vehicle.
Both teens were later released. One was briefly taken to a detention facility before being let go, while the other was dropped off at a different parking lot after agents realized he was a citizen.
Other confrontations have continued to make headlines across Minnesota. Earlier this week, ICE agents were seen removing a U.S. citizen from his home during a search for suspected sex offenders believed to be living at the property.
The Post has requested comment from both Target and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE.
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