Immigration Raids Sweep Home Depot Parking Lots, Raise Worker Concerns
On December 7, 2025, a broad immigration enforcement operation known as Operation Midway Blitz resulted in sweeps at locations around the country, including Home Depot parking lots where people seeking work were gathered. The actions, which in some cases detained U.S. citizens and lawful residents, have prompted civil rights attorneys and local advocates to prepare legal challenges and fueled worry among day laborers and store employees.
Federal enforcement activity on December 7, 2025, reached into multiple regions, targeting locations where people commonly gather to seek short term work. In several instances agents arrested or detained individuals in Home Depot parking lots, with some people held for hours. Video evidence and firsthand accounts documented the encounters, and reports indicate that not all those stopped were undocumented migrants. Some detained individuals identified as U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, raising questions about enforcement methods and screening procedures.
Local advocates have said that Home Depot parking lots have increasingly served as focal points where agents look for day laborers. For workers who rely on informal, in person hiring, the raids have immediate and practical consequences. Day laborers face lost income, interruption of work opportunities, and heightened fear about gathering in familiar spots. The possibility that a citizen or lawful resident could be swept up in an enforcement action amplifies the chilling effect and may push workers into more precarious arrangements or off the public radar.
The enforcement wave also has implications for store operations and employees. Parking lot sweeps can disrupt customers and create safety and liability concerns for store managers and staff who must navigate interactions between federal agents and members of the public. Community organizers and legal advocates are preparing civil actions and litigation aimed at challenging specific practices used during the operation, and attorneys say they will examine whether stops and detentions complied with constitutional and statutory standards.
Operation Midway Blitz is part of a broader period of intensified immigration enforcement that has provoked coordinated legal and community responses. The coming weeks are likely to bring lawsuits and further investigative scrutiny, with potential effects on how employers, property owners, and workers respond to informal hiring sites. For workers who have historically depended on public meeting places to find day work, the raids underscore growing uncertainty about the safety of those routines and the need for legal support and clear information about rights when interacting with enforcement agents.
