The Wall Street Journal this morning reports that “the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota has descended on the stores and parking lots of Target, putting the hometown retailer in a tough political spot as it faces pressure from some locals to keep border protection agents out.
“That pressure came to a head after immigration officials detained two Target employees inside the vestibule of a suburban store late last week after what appeared to be some verbal sparring in the parking lot. ‘I’m literally a U.S. citizen!’ one shouted as they escorted him into a van.
“Both are American citizens and were later released, local officials say. In a social-media post on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security said an individual in the video had been ‘arrested for assaulting a federal law enforcement offers [sic].’
“Video of the incident quickly circulated, sparking an outcry on social-media and calls from local residents and politicians for Target to protect employees and customers from immigration agents patrolling its store lots. On Saturday, demonstrators protested outside the Richfield, Minn., store, demanding a response from Target and additional training for staff when interacting with immigration officials.
“A spokesman for Target declined to comment, but retailers have said they can’t stop law enforcement, including immigration officials from entering public areas of stores and parking lots … Target has issued no public statement on the Richfield incident or other scenes at Target stores caught on video. In one, immigration officials leave a Target bathroom as shoppers and activists with whistles yell at them to leave the store.”
The Journal writes that “Target is far from the only company wrestling with how to navigate the presence of immigration agents on their property. Home Depot parking lots have been a frequent target since the summer. Day laborers, many of them immigrants, have gathered there for years looking for temporary construction work. Some activists have asked the company to stop the raids.
“In the Twin Cities area, immigration officials detained at least two people inside Walmart stores over the past week. Big-box store parking lots are a frequent gathering spot for immigration officials as they buy food, use the restroom and wait for commands, according to city officials and anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement activists.”
KC’s View:
I want to be careful here. Not because I don’t have an opinion on this issue, but because MNB probably isn’t the place to have a nuanced and extended debate about current immigration enforcement policies. At least, not yet. (We may get there at some point.)
Target is in a difficult position here, not least because Minneapolis, its home town, is ground zero for the current debate over immigration enforcement tactics. And the company probably has made its position even worse by acceding to the demands of some special interests and backing off longtime support for the LGBTQ+ community – it is seen by some as submissive and ineffectual. (This image probably has hurt sales and profits. A lack of backbone can have consequences.)
There are limits, as I understand it, to what Target can do. Its stores are open to the public, and that includes armed, masked enforcement agents. Those agents don’t need warrants when they go into those spaces.
But, as the Journal, writes, “Target is advising store workers to stay out of the way of immigration officials or law enforcement for their own safety, said one Minneapolis store worker. The company also has reinforced that law enforcement isn’t allowed in private areas, such as back offices, without a warrant.”
This may not be enough.
I think that Target – and all retailers, and not just in Minneapolis – needs to make sure that all of its store employees are trained in what to do and what to say if confronted by these armed, masked immigration enforcement agents. (I’ve seen at least some of the video of the incident referred to in the story, and it doesn’t look to me like anybody is assaulting the armed, masked enforcement agents. But I wasn’t there, and I may not be seeing everything.)
At the same time, Target – and all retailers, and not just in Minneapolis – is facing other potential problems. Like employees who may be afraid to come to work because of the specter of these armed, masked immigration enforcement agents detaining them – even if they are US citizens or in the country legally. Or customers who may be afraid to shop in their stores for the same reason.
Which is why I believe that Target – and all retailers, and not just in Minneapolis – cannot be silent when these things happen. I believe that retailers should be commenting if their employees and customers are being illegally or unfairly targeted, and in fact ought to paying for the legal defenses that these people may need.
“Community” isn’t just a word that can be used by r Target – and all retailers, and not just in Minneapolis – when inclusively referring to the workers and customers who make up a store’s ecosystem, and who make store’s viable, commercial and hopefully profitable. It also is word that needs to be taken seriously when the people who make up that community are in trouble.
The post Immigration “Enforcement” In Minnesota Finds A New Target appeared first on MNB.
View Original Article
