Protest at Monrovia Home Depot Targets ICE Activity, Day Laborer Safety
Nearly 100 demonstrators staged a buy in protest at the Home Depot in Monrovia on November 22, purchasing and immediately returning 17 cents ice scrapers to clog registers and draw attention to alleged Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in and around store parking lots. The action highlighted the role of Home Depot parking lots as informal workplaces for day laborers and pressed the company to clarify its policies and take protective steps for workers and community members.
Community groups and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network carried out a coordinated demonstration at the Home Depot on Huntington Drive in Monrovia on November 22. Organizers said nearly 100 people each bought a 17 cents ice scraper and immediately returned it at checkout to overwhelm registers and create a visible disruption. Marchers wore makeshift aprons commonly associated with day labor hiring sites, and memorial altars marked by white crosses were placed to recall people who have died in or in connection with immigration enforcement actions.
Store management responded by closing one entrance during the action, signaling an immediate operational impact on the store and customers. The protest sought to pressure Home Depot to take a clearer public position and to take steps perceived as protective for day laborers who regularly gather in store parking lots seeking work. Organizers framed the parking lots as informal workplaces where hiring and labor arrangements often occur, and where enforcement activity can have direct safety and employment consequences.
Home Depot corporate communications representatives said the company is not coordinating with ICE and often is not notified in advance of enforcement actions. That distinction matters for employees who may witness enforcement activity, for store managers who must balance customer service and safety, and for communities that use commercial parking areas as gathering places for day labor hiring.
The demonstration underscores tensions at the intersection of retail operations, community use of property, and immigration enforcement. For store employees, the event raises questions about how to respond to protests and enforcement activity, whether additional training or guidance is needed, and how to minimize disruption to customers while addressing safety concerns. For day laborers and advocates, the action amplified calls for clearer corporate policies and protective measures when enforcement occurs in or near store property.
As retailers continue to navigate their role in community spaces, the Monrovia protest highlights growing pressure from local groups for companies to publicly address how law enforcement activity affects informal work sites and the people who use them.
