AFT Launches Nationwide Target Boycott Over ICE Operations

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has launched a nationwide back-to-school boycott of Target, urging its 1.8 million members to purchase supplies from alternative retailers. The campaign, titled Shop Smart, Support Working Families, follows Target's refusal to publicly condemn U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minnesota. AFT President Randi Weingarten stated that Target CEO Michael Fiddelke failed to provide constructive responses to letters sent in January and March regarding the company's silence on immigration enforcement.

To support the initiative, the AFT created a website to help members find local shopping alternatives and secured backing from the AFL-CIO during its constitutional convention in Minneapolis. Weingarten characterized the ICE operations as an illegal and immoral assault on immigrants, claiming masked agents continue to terrorize families.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security rejected these claims, asserting that the agency enforces federal laws to protect public safety and does not target schools. The boycott has also drawn political criticism from Senator Eric Schmitt and the Heritage Foundation, who called for federal investigations into whether AFT leaders misused member pension funds to pressure the company. The AFT acknowledged that its members' pension funds hold significant investments in Target, including 6.79 million shares.