New York City officials, immigrant-rights advocates and community leaders are urging residents to boycott Target following reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been using a parking lot at the retailer’s Marble Hill shopping location as a staging area for immigration enforcement operations.
The call for a boycott came during a rally outside the Target store on Tuesday, October 13, where City Comptroller Mark Levine, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, State Senator Gustavo Rivera and other elected officials called on the retailer to address concerns about federal agents’ reported use of the property.
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The demands followed an October 8 incident in which an ICE agent shot 28-year-old Oscar Belgal during an enforcement operation in the neighborhood. Belgal’s five-year-old son was reportedly inside the vehicle at the time. The shooting has intensified concerns among residents and advocates about the presence and conduct of federal immigration agents in their communities.
Levine said ICE had been using the parking lot as a base for operations in the area. He has also written to Target’s board, requesting an independent human-rights risk assessment examining the company’s interactions with law enforcement agencies and how it oversees the use of its property and resources.
Williams and other officials joined calls for Target to publicly address the reports and take steps, where legally possible, to prevent its property from being used as a staging ground for immigration enforcement.
The dispute follows a letter sent on October 5 by elected officials from the Bronx and Upper Manhattan to Kingsbridge Associates, a developer associated with the Shops at Marble Hill, asking whether the company had authorized ICE to use the parking lot. The officials urged the property owner to prohibit such activity unless access was legally required.
Target has denied having cooperative agreements with ICE or any other immigration enforcement agency. The company has also said it was unaware of an operational staging area established by ICE at the Marble Hill location. ICE had not responded to questions about the parking lot’s reported use at the time of the latest reports.
The controversy has drawn wider attention to the role private businesses and property owners may play when immigration enforcement agents conduct operations near retail locations. Advocates argue that the reported activity has heightened fear among immigrant communities and are pressing the retailer to respond publicly.
Organizers have also indicated that additional demonstrations at Target locations across New York City may follow as pressure grows for the company and the shopping center’s owners to address the concerns.
