Atlanta advocates demand: “Get ICE out of Home Depot now”

Last June, agents allegedly working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took six men into custody in a parking lot outside of a Home Depot in Riverdale, a city in the south metro area. In a statement on the detentions, a lawmaker who represents the area identified the men as “Black and Latino individuals . . . forcibly taken by masked, unidentified agents in paramilitary-style gear.” Another local Democratic Party official reported finding a cellphone left at the scene that began receiving calls, one from Senegal, “from concerned, French-speaking individuals looking for someone named Muhammad.” 

The Riverdale incident marked just one in a string of apparent ICE arrests taking place across the country outside of Home Depot locations—popular spots for day laborers, often Latino immigrants, to find work. By now, dozens have been arrested in cities including Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles.

As news of the arrests have spread, pressure has been building on Home Depot, which is headquartered in Atlanta, to take a public stand. On Tuesday, advocates from 14 local organizations held a press conference to amplify these calls, demanding that Home Depot address ICE’s presence at its stores ahead of the World Cup, which is set to bring soccer fans from across the world to Atlanta this summer. Home Depot is an official sponsor of the event. 

In a letter sent to Home Depot CEO Ted Decker on March 17, the coalition of organizations—which includes the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, Asian Americans Advancing Justice–Atlanta, and a local Black Lives Matter chapter— asked to meet with company representatives to discuss their concerns. They requested that the company end its contract with Flock Safety, an automated license plate reader that helps law enforcement agencies check plates against databases, and notifies officers of stolen vehicles and wanted suspects. It’s been reported that law enforcement agencies with access to the license plate data can share it with immigration agencies. In the letter, advocates asked for a response from the company by Monday, March 23. Since they didn’t receive a response, they organized the press conference on Tuesday. 

Just this week, the Dunwoody City Council voted to defer its contract with Flock Safety over data use concerns. 

285 South reached out to Home Depot for comment but didn’t receive a response. In an undated post on its website, the company wrote that they are not collaborating with ICE, nor grant access to federal immigration officers. 

“Our campaign demands that the Home Depot end its complicity with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and with the Trump regime’s immoral and illegal deportation efforts,” said Al Solove, chair of Indivisible ATL, a local chapter of the national progressive group, speaking at the press conference outside the Georgia Capitol. 

The organizations are requesting that the company develop a policy to deter ICE operations in its parking lots and stores; create a safety plan to protect workers, employees, and day laborers; train staff on their rights in case of ICE presence at the stores; give autonomy to local stores so that they can develop their own procedures to respond in the event of ICE presence in their communities; and take a public stance against ICE operations on their properties. (Speaking to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last year, local immigration attorney Charles Kuck explained that, while authorities need warrants to access private homes and businesses, those rules may not apply to parking lots that are typically open to the public.)

They’re also considering taking other public measures, including a boycott, said Dr. Amir Ahmadi, director of policy and advocacy of the local nonprofit 50501 Georgia. 

“We want the World Cup to be a success, and we want Atlanta to live up to its values as a welcoming city and welcome the world, and that cannot happen with what’s going on today, both at the airport in Atlanta and Home Depot,” said Michael Collins, director of the watchdog coalition Play Fair ATL, referencing the recent presence of ICE agents at Hartsfield-Jackson airport. 

Also at the press conference was Mildred Dani-Taylor, the wife of a Gwinnett County man, Rodney Taylor, who’s currently being held in immigrant detention and may be deported. She said companies like Home Depot support the system that detained people like her husband. 

“ICE is targeting construction and personal care industries,” Mildred said. “And companies like Home Depot are complacent. They support policies and systems that criminalize innocent people, break families apart, and leave children alone in the streets after their parents have been detained at Home Depot facilities.” 

Alberto Feregrino, lead organizer of the nonprofit We Are CASA, said Home Depot can commit “today” to end its contract with the surveillance camera company. “Home Depot can today commit to keeping ICE out of its stores, out of its parking lots, and make an effort to protect its workers and its patrons,” he said. “We stand here to put you on notice, if you want our hard-earned money of Black and brown, immigrant, and working-class communities, then we ask you to get ICE out of Home Depot now.”