Amid Southern California’s ongoing resistance to the Trump regime’s fascist practices, community organizers and immigration advocates have named a new focus and tactic: a boycott of Home Depot.
On Saturday, August 9, a coalition of more than 50 grassroots organizations gathered for a rally at MacArthur Park — the site of ICE and CBP’s brazen display of force on July 7 — followed by a march to the Home Depot on Wilshire Boulevard in Westlake. That specific store has been targeted by ICE several times, including just days before the rally when agents jumped out of the back of a Penske truck and kidnapped a dozen day laborers after the truck driver had lured them in by promising work.
The coalition, known as the Boycott Home Depot campaign, has called for Home Depot to publicly denounce immigration raids. In addition, they are demanding the prohibition of all federal agents using Home Depot stores or parking lots as staging grounds, an end to the persecution of day laborers, and compensation for the families of those kidnapped.
Nearly 50 separate kidnapping incidents have occurred at Home Depot franchises in Los Angeles and surrounding cities since frequent and consistent ICE raids began in June. More than 82 day laborers — or jornaleros — and food vendors have been abducted by federal agents at Home Depots, according to internal data from the Community Self Defense Coalition.
“It is no secret that Home Depots are a hub for day laborers and food vendors,” said Karla Estrada, a formerly undocumented immigrant and current member of the Community Solidarity Project. “Usually people searching for work at a Home Depot are the most vulnerable of our community. The regime knows this, and it is a tactic to kidnap people without major pushback to meet the federal government’s quota.”
Meanwhile, the company has done nothing to intervene with the kidnappings taking place on its property. Following the recent raids, Home Depot released a statement about ICE activities on their property.
“We aren’t notified that immigration enforcement activities are going to happen, and we aren’t involved in them. In many cases, we don’t know that arrests have taken place until after they’re over,” the statement said. “We’re required to follow all federal and local rules and regulations in every market where we operate.”
The launch of the boycott and its kickoff march join the ranks of fierce resistance efforts in Southern California pushing back against ICE and other government agencies seeking to deport people.
On August 1, a federal appeals court denied a request from the federal government to remove a temporary restraining order (TRO) that barred federal agencies from committing unlawful immigration raids in Los Angeles and nearby counties. The TRO prohibits the stoppage and seizure of individuals without reasonable suspicion. It also declares it unconstitutional for agents to create grounds for detention based on apparent race or ethnicity, speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent, presence in a specific location, or the type of work a person does.
In spite of this legal protection mechanism, ICE raids have continued throughout the greater Los Angeles area. On Friday, August 8, federal agents raided a Home Depot in Van Nuys twice in one day and detained 10 day laborers. According to data collected by the Community Self Defense Coalition, Home Depots in Marina del Rey and Cypress Park were also raided by federal agents on August 8.
In addition to making Home Depot a locus of surveillance and violence, federal agencies have conducted bold displays of power in predominantly Black and brown areas of Los Angeles, sending a message of fear and intimidation to immigrants and community advocates. On July 7, immigration agents clad in military fatigues — some riding in on horseback and others aboard armored vehicles — assembled at MacArthur Park, a densely populated area with a vibrant street vendor culture. The agents formed a skirmish line in a grassy area where children were playing soccer, then marched across the park. One agent was seen waving both an American flag and a Customs and Border Patrol flag in the street.
Dubbed Operation Excalibur by DHS, this stunt was the Trump administration’s idea of a show of force. According to leaked internal Army documents, DHS identified MacArthur Park as the target based on their claim that it hosts a massive distribution ring for fake IDs, as well as on the perceived threat of MS-13 gang members using the area as a home base.
Despite the ample resources available to federal agencies involved in the operation, the descent upon the park was marked with internal chaos and disorganization as ICE and CPB failed to coordinate with National Guard and military members. Much of the planned operation was not even executed — due to a lack of communication across agencies. After arriving on site at 10:30 AM, all federal agents had left the area within an hour, with the National Guard abandoning MacArthur Park after only 24 minutes. No arrests or detentions were made.
While Operation Excalibur demonstrated the utter incompetence of DHS and other participating agencies, the intended message to immigrant Angelenos and community organizers was clear.
“The regime chose MacArthur Park because of its history with immigrant communities and Black and brown folk,” said Karla Estrada. “The park is also a testament to the neglect of the city in terms of poverty, homelessness, mental health, and drug addiction. Yet, it is also vibrant and joyful. On a given day, MacArthur park is full of vendors with delicious food, kids playing ball, summer concerts, and political activities. The display from the feds is a direct threat to the diversity of the city.”
These advances are not going unanswered. The August 9 rally and march provided an avenue for advocacy groups to reassert their strength and proclaim their ongoing commitment to resisting fascism. That Saturday, a crowd gathered around noon at the intersection of Alvarado and 7th Street and organizers danced about in a flurry of preparations before the action. Musicians performed in the bed of a pickup truck, sending the crisp rhythm of cumbia throughout the street. As the afternoon commenced, the crowd took to the street with the truck and coalition members leading the way. Chants of “ICE out of LA!” reverberated off the buildings as the march rounded the corner onto Wilshire Boulevard.
The march paused in front of the Westlake Home Depot. Security guards blocked the entrances to the parking lot with golf carts so that the crowd could not enter. Subsequently, community members filled the street. Speakers from Centro CSO, About Face and IDEPSCA gave impassioned remarks from the bed of the truck.
“I want to know from Mayor Karen Bass: why have you not met with this day laborer organization that has the most day labor centers in your city?” said IDEPSCA executive director and Boycott Home Depot coalition member Maegan Ortiz.
“Supporting Home Depot is supporting a fascist administration that clearly wants to disappear all immigrants — especially Latinos — from the streets of Los Angeles,” Ortiz later told Knock LA. “This is just the beginning. Any company that is complicit with fascist government, we are going to come after them.”
In addition to remaining compliant with ICE activities on their business properties, Home Depot has an extensive history of supporting Donald Trump. The late Bernard Marcus, co-founder of the company, donated $2.7 million to Trump’s campaign in 2024. Last month the other co-founder of Home Depot, Ken Langone, stated he has “never been more excited about the future of America” than he is now that Trump is the president. Thus a boycott of Home Depot demonstrates a material commitment by community organizations in Los Angeles to identify and disrupt the financial health of corporations that actively do business with or have expressed support for the current fascist regime.
The protest concluded with a procession back to MacArthur Park along 6th Street, flanked by the vibrant rainbow umbrellas of Westlake’s street vendors on the sidewalks.
“When we spend our money, let’s do it with dignity,” said Union del Barrio member Ron Gochez in remarks to the crowd. “We know boycotts work. We have our brothers and sisters and siblings in Palestine to show us that.”
After cheers rose up from the crowd, Gochez closed with a promise: “It doesn’t matter if it’s 100 degrees. We’re going to be out here organizing, we’re going to be out here marching, we’re going to be out here fighting, doing whatever it takes to keep these gestapo from brutalizing our people.”
To learn more about the Boycott Home Depot campaign and coalition, visit their Instagram @homedepotboycott.
Rosalind Jones (she/they) is a queer, Los Angeles–based writer and community organizer. She is a contributor to the online publication Knock LA, a founding member of the social justice organization Community Solidarity Project, and authors a Substack titled Another World is Inevitable. Rosalind holds a BA in Diplomacy and World Affairs from Occidental College and a certification in Creative Writing from the UCLA Extension.
