There is no company in the U.S. more closely associated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids than Home Depot Inc.
In and around the retailer’s parking lots, masked and armed ICE agents chase and tackle and detain the day laborers who gather there to look for work.
Employees who are upset by the grim scenes are allowed to go home for the day with pay — a tacit acknowledgment by Home Depot that the raids are violent and traumatic.
You won’t find the company saying as much publicly. Instead, it’s consistently offered the same answer, attempting to distance itself from not only the raids but also the workers getting hauled off from its property. When I reached out, I got the usual stock response:
“We aren’t notified that immigration enforcement activities are going to happen, and we aren’t involved in the operations. We’re required to follow all federal and local rules and regulations in every market where we operate.”