A nationwide boycott of Home Depot is being called for through the month of July, echoing a boycott on Target over the discontinuation of DEI programs that has found the retail chain suffering from diminished foot traffic.
The targeting of Home Depot comes alongside calls for boycotts against Starbucks, Amazon, and all of Jeff Bezos-related businesses, including Whole Foods and Zappos.
The boycotts, called for by a loose collection of L.A. activists for weeks now over its perceived role in aggressive I.C.E. detentions and deportations, was pointedly fleshed out this morning by John Schwartz, president of The People's Union, a stated non-partisan group organized for "economic resistance, corporate accountability, and real justice for the working class."
Angelenos are increasingly seeing Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer in the world, with a stock price of $371, as one of many fronts in the battle over recent government overreach and the targeting of our community members.
An early ICE raid was executed at a Home Depot in early June, setting off a month of protests, and the ensuing deployment of National Guard and Marines. Home Depot and its surrounding streets continue to appear as a frequent location where I.C.E. and other masked men are seen targeting immigrants and brown people.
Today, calls are growing for Home Depot to take actions that would limit I.C.E. from entering their parking lots, among other demands, such as those being made at a Pomona store.
But the call for a larger nationwide boycott seems to have more to do with corporate domination, economics, DEI, and Trump's "Big Bill" crammed with tax cuts for the rich and budget cuts for the poor, as much as it might be about immigration.
In his Jul 1 video, Schwartz cites the chain's alleged erasure of its DEI programs and the assured damage everyday people would feel from Trump's "Big Bill," saying:
"We are holding this entire corrupt system accountable. Because while the people are drowning and suffering, while families are being crushed by inflation, medical debt, housing costs, this treasonous administration is out here trying to pass a budget bill that will rip this country apart from the inside."
Schwartz is also asking families to avoid civic fireworks displays and parades, arguing that our tax dollars are collectively being sponged up by such extravagances. He is also pushing people to spend their money with the kind of small, local retailers that corporate "big box" stores and online outlets like Home Depot and Amazon have all-but-eradicated.
"We do not celebrate Independence while The Constitution is being gutted," he says in another video.
"We the people have had and seen enough," he says. "So this July, we make a different kind of noise. We stop shopping with them, we stop funding the systems that don't serve us. And we shift our energy to small businesses, to local shops, to the people who actually care. Because we are the economy."
The People's Union says the boycott call is not centered on politics, despite Home Depot's recently deceased co-founder, Bernard “Bernie” Marcus, fame as a Trump mega-donor.
The company itself appears to spend millions of dollars each year on lobbyists, while individuals at the company made donations to both the campaigns of Trump and Kamala in 2024. The company is currently a sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026, which will be played in Los Angeles, among other cities.
Home Depot seems to be shaking off any criticism, and does not sound worried about a potential boycott.
In a statement shared by Newsweek, the company argues it values being inclusive, writing:
"For over 45 years, our business success has been driven by our eight core values, including respect for all people and taking care of our people. We're proud to have a culture that welcomes everyone, and we believe it helps us achieve our business goals by supporting associates, building relationships and fostering innovation."
Home Depot does not appear to have made any direct statements about its feeling or policies towards I.C.E. allegedly using its locations as a hunting ground.
But in Los Angeles, the chain is prominently in activists' sights for what they see as the corporation's complicity as its parking lots frequently serve as the site of immigration raids and I.C.E. abductions, earning it the nickname "Home Deport" among some.
Federal raids are frequently targeting people at Home Depot locations, perhaps given their longstanding Mexican and Central American customer bases, as well as the familiar presence of day laborers and vendors on their perimeters. We've seen people tackled and family members snatched with a backdrop of the company's big orange logo blaring all over the news this past three weeks.
A company spokesperson has denied that the store employees, management, or owners have had any knowledge of or involvement in immigration actions set to occur in early June or beyond.
In turn, activists have begun staging at Home Depots, in hopes of helping spot masked men and prevent undeserving neighbors from their harassment, with L.A. Public Press detailing the work of the LA Tenants Union Koreatown Local and other activists at the Westlake Home Depot.
As if to put punctuation on suspicions as to where the chain's heart may lay, yesterday a group of people on "migrant watch," who were said to be looking out for the safety of day laborers, were asked to leave the premises of a Home Depot by a group of regional managers.
In a comment that aligns with those of Schwartz, one of the involved parties writes, "People need to start BOYCOTTING @homedepot for being COMPLICIT."
A community action was also called for at the Huntington Park store location this morning.
