Emily Patton was standing outside the Target at Coral Ridge Mall a little before 2 p.m. on Sunday, holding an American flag and a sign with a simple, direct message: “ICE OUT!” Patton had driven in from Wilton to participate in a protest aimed at the Target Corporation and its relationship with ICE.
“Early on, they dropped all their DEI efforts as soon as Trump asked them to,” Patton said, explaining why she was on the sidewalk outside Target. “But also more recently, they have allowed ICE to go into their stores and detain people working there or shopping there, and they’ve also allowed ICE to stage out of their parking lots.”
Patton soon moved inside, joining more than 150 people gathered in the food court, preparing to take part in Sing Down the Doors at Target, a protest organized by Iowa Mennonite Action (IMA).
“Jesus confronted the rich and powerful and so will we,” Luke Hertzler of Washington Mennonite Church said in a statement about the protest. “ICE’s violence is propped up by corporations who support ICE and refuse to protect their people. Entities like Target must be held accountable, so we use our wallets and our voices to make our demands heard.”
IMA is the state chapter of Mennonite Action, a national organization, which is “focused around empowering Mennonites and friends around the nation to support a ceasefire in Palestine, to resist the rise of authoritarianism in the United States, which includes also advocating for immigrants in our local communities,” IMA organizer Aliese Gingrich told Little Village after Sunday’s protest.
Mennonite Action has been encouraging local chapters to participate in the Sing Down the Doors of Target. The first protests took place in Topeka, Kansas and Philadelphia on Feb. 5, and as of Sunday there had been a total of 10 Target protest, including the one in Coralville.
Mennonite Action has four demands of the Minneapolis-based retail giant, Gingrich explained.
- Publicly call for ICE to leave Minnesota.
- Post signs in their stores that deny entrance to immigration agents, unless they have a signed judicial warrant.
- Train store staff on how to respond if agents arrive.
- Publicly call for Congress to end funding for ICE.
The protests have all been peaceful with protesters holding signs and singing hymns. But the Feb. 5 protest in Philadelphia ended with 40 of the approximately 100 protesters being arrested for refusing to disperse after store management called the police, who ordered them to leave.
“We were prepared for that to happen,” Gingrich said.
There were no incidents during Sunday’s protest, one of the largest so far, according to reported attendance from the Sing Down the Doors events. Gingrich said organizers had informed Target’s manager of their plans to march in and sing hymns shortly before the protest began.
At about 2:10 p.m., the participants marched into Target, many holding signs, all of them singing “We Shall Overcome.” Once inside, still singing, they arranged themselves, lining the parth from the parking lot doors, but leaving room for people to pass freely up and down the aisles.
Not all of the protesters were Mennonites. Emily Patton is a Quaker, and there were members of other faiths present, including clergy members. The event was designed to be ecumenical, accommodating anyone concerned about Target and ICE.
As the hymn singing continued, most Target shoppers watched from a distance. Some seemed baffled by what was going on, and a few applauded the protesters. No Target employees approached the protesters. Two mall security officers loitered near the mall entrance to the store, but did not come in. No law enforcement officers appeared at the scene.
After about 10 minutes, the protesters marched out through the parking lot exit, and reassembled on the sidewalk to continue signing for another 10 minutes.
Target hasn’t issued any statements yet about the Sing Down the Doors at Target protests. In the past, it also hasn’t issued any clear statements about its policies regarding ICE, and if it is allowing immigration agents to use Target property as staging areas.
In the past, Target had been considered one of most civically minded corporations in Minnesota, but so far it has avoided directly addressing the impact of Operation Metro Surge, the large-scale immigration enforcement action in which the Trump administration deployed more than 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents to Minneapolis. The operation has been marked by use of indiscriminate violence by federal agents directed at immigrants as well as peaceful protesters and observers. Federal agents have also killed two people, both American citizens. On Jan. 7, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good, and on Jan. 24, Alexi Pretti was shot and killed by two Border Patrol agents.
The day after the killing of Alexi Pretti, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce posted an open letter signed by dozens of CEOs of Minnesota-based companies, including Target CEO Michael Fiddelke.
“With yesterday’s tragic news, we are calling for an immediate deescalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions,” the Jan. 25 letter said.
The “tragic news” was the only reference to the killing of Pretti; his name is never used. The killing of Renee Good goes unmentioned in the letter, as does other acts of violence by federal agents. The letter never mentions ICE or the Border Patrol.
Plans call for Mennonite Action’s singing protests to continue around the country. Gingrich said she hopes the cumulative effects of all these small protests will prompt Target’s leadership to listen to their demands. But it’s also important for people of faith to take public stands on issues of importance.
“We’re a peaceful group who is here to spread good news of justice and liberation,” she said, summarizing Sunday’s protest.
