Richfield Police Arrest, Release 2 dozen protesters at Target Amid ICE Demonstrations

Richfield police arrested and later released about two dozen protesters outside the Target at 6445 Richfield Pkwy on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Target trespassed the protesters, warning they would face arrest if they returned to company property.

Unidos MN and ICEOut Minnesota organized demonstrations at Target stores across the country, demanding the Minnesota-based retailer cut ties with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Protest Follows January Detentions

Last month, video showed former Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino leading a convoy of federal agents inside the Richfield store, where two U.S. citizens were detained. One was a 17-year-old worker who was reportedly dropped off in a Walmart parking lot after agents verified his immigration status.

On Wednesday, Richfield police issued three dispersal orders after protesters staged a sit-in at all store entrances for nearly an hour.

Evee Elmira, who was among 50 protesters arrested at the Whipple Federal Building last weekend, said she distrusts local law enforcement, opposes ICE and believes Target is enabling the agency, which she said has deployed roughly 2,000 federal agents to the Twin Cities.

She said she was shocked to see six squad cars respond to a separate protest at the St. Paul Target at 1744 Suburban Ave.

“It is absolutely disgusting and disturbing that they’re using all this law enforcement to come after 10, 15 protesters that are peacefully singing but allowing ICE to run the streets and not follow the law, shoot people, kidnap people, tear apart families, but they’re coming for us,” Elmira said.

Labor and Community Voices

Marcia Howard of the Minneapolis Federation of Educators, MFE Local 59, said she was told by Target management and Minneapolis police that she had been trespassed from the store.

Rosa Valenzuela, whose arms were linked with members of Unite Here Local 17, said she fears ICE’s authority and record.

“We all know what ICE is capable of. They are capable to kill people,” Valenzuela said. “But we are here because we believe what is happening is so unfair.”

Valenzuela said she last shopped at Target on Black Friday and would reconsider returning if the company publicly takes a stand against ICE.

Target has not publicly addressed the January detentions at its Richfield store.

Geoff Paquette of Unite Here 17 criticized a joint corporate letter calling for lawmakers to “de-escalate,” describing it as insufficient.

“Target can push the Chamber of Commerce to actually make a stand and say, ‘This is bad for our economy, this is bad for our communities. This is bad for our neighbors,’” Paquette said.

Sit-In and Escalation

Protest marshals in bright vests began moving toward the Richfield Target entrances at 5 p.m. A store manager stepped into the parking lot and told protesters they were not allowed on company property.

Veronica Mendez Moore led chants as demonstrators staged a sit-in.

“Use your power we demand! It’s us or ICE where do you stand!” protesters chanted.

Erin Pruitt, who is legally blind, said she was deeply shaken by reports that a 17-year-old worker had been detained.

“What happened to those teenage Target employees shook me deeply. I have a 17-year-old son, and all I could think about was him,” Pruitt said. “The idea that a young worker could be roughed up and left out in the cold is something no parent can hear without feeling sick.”

Whipple Protests and Sheriff Response

Hennepin County Sheriff DeWanna Witt recently signaled she wanted to pursue compromise with federal authorities in an effort to end Operation Metro Surge. That announcement came days before undercover federal agents chased a man through the Hennepin County Government Center who was alleged to have 50 pounds of crystal meth.

Elmira described a prior encounter with sheriff’s deputies in which she said ICE agents were allegedly violating Minnesota traffic laws.

“They were driving through the stop signs, not stopping. They were using their phones while driving, and we’re like, that’s illegal in Minnesota,” Elmira said. “And the sheriff says, without stuttering, ICE is exempt from the law.”

Last Saturday at Whipple, protesters threw sex toys at suspected ICE vehicles and sheriff’s deputies as they drove through the area.

Hours later, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office declared the gathering unlawful. After a third dispersal order, state troopers in riot gear pushed protesters behind barricades.

Elmira said she was tackled by multiple officers while eating pizza behind caution tape.

“I am literally choking. I cannot breathe, and I am trying to tell them that,” she said. “They’re punching my arms, they’re punching my leg.”

She said officers stopped after her distress drew attention from others nearby.

Personal Stakes

Elmira said she has a friend who has lived in the United States legally for nearly a decade. She said federal agents detained the friend and his daughter after they entered a Starbucks inside a Target.

“They refused to let him show them the papers,” Elmira said. “They took him and his daughter to the Whipple building and separated them.”

Elmira said she views Target similarly to local law enforcement — as unwilling to challenge a federal agency that has shot and killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and that she believes is disregarding due process rights.

“It just breaks my heart that Target just has ICE all over their property, harassing people, taking their employees,” Elmira said. “They still just keep going about it, and they don’t make any kind of policy that ICE can’t come and detain people without a judicial warrant.”