Protesters in Monrovia, California, staged a “buy-in” at a local Home Depot over the weekend to object to the company’s alleged role in immigration enforcement. The group formed an orderly but lengthy line to purchase 17-cent ice scrapers, then returned the items immediately.
Organizers said the tactic slowed operations and drew attention to what they viewed as unsafe conditions for workers and customers during immigration raids.
What’s up with the Home Depot “ICE scraper” buy-ins?
The demonstration grew from concerns about more aggressive immigration actions that have taken place under President Donald Trump, who had promised mass deportations during his 2024 campaign. Protesters said these tactics created stress in communities with large immigrant workforces. They also claimed that companies with frequent day-laborer activity, including Home Depot, had become informal sites for enforcement encounters.
Even so, Home Depot rejected accusations that it cooperated with federal agents. In a response posted on X, the company wrote, “This is untrue – we aren’t coordinating with ICE. We aren’t involved in ICE activities, and we aren’t notified when they are going to happen.”
Still, activists insisted that the retailer had not done enough to ensure safety on its premises.
A Reddit post accompanying the Monrovia video described the buy-in as a way “to clog the lines and bring the store to a stop in an effort to disrupt sales and send a message against ICE raids in their community.”
The clip showed people wearing stickers that read “ICE out of the Home Depot” as they waited for self-checkout stations. According to the Los Angeles Times, nearly one hundred participants joined the action.
What comes next?
Local organizers argued that Home Depot had become an unofficial staging ground for enforcement. Pablo Alvarado of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network told the LA Times, “Whether the corporation wants to admit it or not, Home Depot has become ground zero for this cruel, vicious immigration enforcement that’s taking place in our country.”
Home Depot pushed back against these statements. Corporate communications manager George Lane told the Daily Dot, “We aren’t notified that immigration enforcement activities are going to happen, and we aren’t involved in the operations. We’re required to follow all federal and local rules and regulations in every market where we operate.”
Home Depot noted in previous public statements that it had long employed day laborers, many of whom were immigrants. The company said in October that it supported workers navigating what it described as a “complex community issue.”
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