By Gloria Rebecca Gomez, Arizona Mirror

Posted February 26, 2026

 

Immigrant rights advocates want Arizona’s Democratic congressional delegation to look into whether The Home Depot is collaborating with federal immigration officials.

 

The calls come amid renewed scrutiny over immigration enforcement tactics at the big-box home improvement chain and its ongoing unwillingness to deter U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, even as its locations are increasingly subject to federal raids.

 

U.S. Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller directed the agency last year to target the retailer’s parking lots, where day laborers, who are often Latinos or immigrants, gather to flag down passing cars for work. A recent review of court documents by the Arizona Republic found that, in at least one case, federal agents ran the license plates of cars parked at a West Phoenix Home Depot to identify people who were eligible for deportation.

 

It’s not the first time Home Depot has been at the center of questionable surveillance tactics: The company has a partnership with Flock Safety, which has been criticized for helping ICE identify immigrants via license plate scanning cameras. A group of Home Depot investors requested more information on that partnership in January, and the topic is expected to be revisited at an annual shareholder meeting in May.

 

Community advocates sounded the alarm over the recent report of ICE’s scanning of license plates in Phoenix at a Tuesday morning news conference in front of a Home Depot at the intersection of 36th Street and Thomas Road. The site has seen multiple ICE arrests, and advocates said they worry ICE’s new strategy could lead to even more. During a raid in January, a U.S. citizen who ran when he witnessed other day laborers running was detained for several minutes by federal agents before he was able to prove his citizenship.

 

Salvador Reza, a member of Los Comités de Defensa del Barrio, a civil and Indigenous rights group, urged the hardware retailer to take a stronger stance against ICE. He also called on U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari and U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego to investigate the relationship between the hardware retailer and federal immigration authorities.

“We’re calling again on Home Depot to get ICE out of your stores, get ICE out of your parking lots,” Reza said. “And to the members of Congress and other public elected officials: We’re asking you to hold hearings, to do something, so that we can get the truth out.”

 

Reza noted that immigration enforcement activity has occurred at stores in multiple states, and he said that ICE agents have arrested people at stores in Phoenix at least three times just this month. According to Reza, ICE detained a man on Monday at the 36th Street location.

 

A spokeswoman for ICE would not confirm an arrest happened without a name, date of birth or arrest number.

 

Gallego, Kelly and Ansari have been among the most vocal critics of ICE in Arizona’s Democratic congressional delegation. Gallego last week denounced the reports that ICE agents are scanning license plates at Home Depot, saying it contrasts what the public wants and the Trump administration has long claimed: that federal immigration enforcement is focused on arresting criminals.

 

In an emailed statement, Ansari similarly criticized the tactic and said she is committed to pushing for increased oversight of the agency.

 

“ICE’s targeting of working people in our community is outrageous,” she said. “These are hardworking individuals doing tough jobs to support their families and contribute to our economy. Instead of making us safer, ICE is spreading fear and chaos.”

 

In an emailed statement, Evelyn Fornes, a spokeswoman for Home Depot, said the retailer isn’t notified about immigration enforcement activities in advance and isn’t involved in their operations.

 

“We aren’t coordinating with ICE or Border Patrol,” she wrote. “We cannot legally interfere with federal enforcement agencies, including preventing them from coming into our stores and parking lots. We ask associates to report incidents immediately and not engage with the activity for their safety.”

 

Legally, federal agents have the right to enter public spaces, like stores or parking lots without a warrant. The only places they aren’t allowed to enter without prior authorization or legal permission are private property or employee spaces that the general public can’t access.

 

Erika Andiola, with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, was unconvinced by the retailer’s statement. She pointed out that far smaller businesses with more to lose have successfully fended off raids, closing their doors at the sight of federal agents or shutting down completely.

 

Federal agents ran the license plates of cars parked at a West Phoenix Home Depot to identify people who were eligible for deportation.

 

Reza added that Home Depot has a robust security system, including guards and cameras, that keeps employees informed about who is in the retailer’s parking lot. Instead, Reza said they use it to aid federal immigration enforcement operations, telling reporters that volunteers on the scene who were recording Monday’s ICE arrest were quickly booted by security guards.

 

“Home Depot keeps saying they can’t do anything, keeps letting ICE take people who are just working to provide for their families, and yet they are still telling our community we matter to them.” Andiola said.

 

Despite that, neither Reza nor Andiola stopped short of calling for a boycott of the retailer or saying that day laborers should avoid its parking lots.

 

“These people need the work,” Reza said. “They need to eat.”

 

Instead, he advised day laborers to be aware of their surroundings and not to run if they see ICE agents because that could spark a pursuit. Reza recommended walking calmly away from the area. Andiola, too, said day laborers rely on the retailer and the customers it draws in too much to push for the community to abandon it.

 

Her organization aims to meet day laborers where they are, instead. The group recruits volunteers to monitor street corners for ICE activity and touch base with day laborers. There are currently five street corners being watched over by volunteers in Phoenix, and the Home Depot location on 36th Street is one of them.

 

Victor Sánchez was detained for several minutes by ICE agents at the 36th Street location during a Jan. 4 raid, but he has continued to show up in the parking lot since then — and he was there on Tuesday, standing feet away from activists as they denounced increased enforcement activity. Sanchez said he arrives each day at 5 a.m. and waves down cars until 2 p.m., hoping for work painting, tiling or moving. Despite almost being arrested by ICE, he said he plans to continue showing up because he has five kids to take care of.

 

“We’re all here trying to make a living for our family,” he said.

 

But, he added, his citizenship status doesn’t make him feel safer. He noted that Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were shot and killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis, were also citizens.

 

“Even though you’re a U.S. citizen, you can still get shot, you can still get deported,” he said.

 

Eric, who was unwilling to share his last name because he fears being targeted by federal agents, came to the U.S. just a little over a year ago from Puebla, México. Like Sánchez, he said he has to set aside his fear to find work at Home Depot. Just a few days ago, there was a false alarm among the day laborers that ICE was in the area. Eric, who doesn’t have a car, took off running. He said he’s grateful he’s never been around when ICE has shown up, but said it’s something he’s constantly aware of.

 

“Since everything that’s happened, I’ve been scared, you know?” he said, laughing softly. “But we’re not giving up.”

 

 

Gloria Gomez is a Reporter with the Arizona Mirror. This article is republished from Arizona Mirror  under a Creative Commons license. Arizona Mirror is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.