Protesters rally at Target HQ over ICE surge
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Monday morning outside Target’s downtown Minneapolis headquarters, demanding that new CEO Michael Fiddelke publicly oppose ICE’s Operation Metro Surge and bar federal immigration agents from using Target stores and parking lots. Organizers accuse Target of 'silent complicity' while ICE and Border Patrol fan out across the Twin Cities, and they are pressing the retailer to end cooperation with federal staging and speak out against arrests that have traumatized immigrant workers and customers. The rally is part of a coordinated pressure campaign that has already hit hotels and homebuilders, and comes as major corporations have been criticized for reaping profits from diverse metro neighborhoods while ducking the political fallout of the crackdown. Social media posts from the scene show union banners and family‑led chants, with some employees saying they fear both retaliation from the company and ICE attention if they join in.
📌 Key Facts
- A rally and press conference took place outside Target headquarters in Minneapolis on the morning of February 2, 2026.
- Protesters are calling on CEO Michael Fiddelke to 'end [Target’s] silence,' stop allowing ICE into stores and lots, and publicly demand that ICE leave Minnesota.
- The action is tied directly to Operation Metro Surge and follows weeks of reports from immigrant‑serving small businesses that sales have plunged while ICE operations intensify.
📊 Relevant Data
Undocumented immigrants have a 41% lower total criminal conviction rate than native-born Americans.
No, undocumented immigrant crime rate isn't higher as Trump claimed — Congress.gov
Immigrants contribute $26 billion to Minnesota's economy, with Somali Minnesotans contributing $8 billion.
Economist: Immigrants contribute $26 billion to Minnesota's economy — MPR News
The economic and political instability in Venezuela, accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has driven migration to the United States.
Venezuelan Immigrants in the United States — Migration Policy Institute
Minnesota is home to over 107,000 people of Somali descent, the largest Somali population in the United States.
Trump targeting Somali community: How many Somalis live in Minneapolis Dec 2025 — FOX 9
Federal immigration officers were involved in 19 shootings during the second Trump administration.
Data: Federal immigration officers involved in 19 shootings in Trump's second term — WBAL-TV
Somali immigrants began resettling in Minnesota in the 1990s as refugees fleeing civil war, with the community growing through family reunification and secondary migration.
How Minnesota became a hub for Somali immigrants in the U.S. — NPR
📰 Source Timeline (1)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time