{"id":824033,"date":"2026-08-24T08:58:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T08:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/824033\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T08:58:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T08:58:19","slug":"american-federation-of-teachers-launches-boycott-against-target-claims-retailer-remained-silent-on-ice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/824033\/","title":{"rendered":"American Federation of Teachers launches boycott against Target, claims retailer ‘remained silent’ on ICE"},"content":{"rendered":"

American Federation of Teachers<\/a>\u00a0(AFT) President Randi Weingarten<\/a> promoted a nationwide back-to-school boycott of retail giant Target over the weekend because the company had not condemned ICE operations in Minnesota \u2014 the location of its headquarters \u2014 prompting criticism from education advocates and a call for federal scrutiny.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gave Target ample time to stand with the communities in which they operate and help their neighbors, but its silence about federal immigration abuses has been deafening,\u201d\u00a0Weingarten said<\/a>\u00a0in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue could not be more pressing: Seven months since the murders of Alex Pretti and Ren\u00e9e Good, masked ICE agents are still in our streets, our schools and our communities, terrorizing families in the name of Donald Trump\u2019s illegal and immoral assault on immigrants striving for their American Dream,\u201d she continued. \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re urging our members to avoid Target and patronize more ethical shopping alternatives this back-to-school season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), speaks as Starbucks workers go on strike outside a Starbucks store. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Weingarten also shared\u00a0a video on Instagram<\/a>, where she directed families to the AFT\u2019s\u00a0\u201cShop Smart, Not Target\u201d website<\/a>, which maps local back-to-school shopping alternatives. The organization launched the campaign Wednesday after sending Target CEO Michael Fiddelke letters in February and March.<\/p>\n

In a statement to Fox News Digital, DHS rejected the AFT\u2019s characterization of ICE.<\/p>\n

\u201cICE enforces federal immigration laws, protects public safety, and conducts enforcement pursuant to federal laws and applicable agency policies. Target is not a <\/a>sensitive location,\u201d an ICE spokesperson said. \u201cHowever, the current policy provides guidance for officers and recognizes that enforcement actions in or near protected areas require consideration of the circumstances and applicable law. ICE will continue to conduct lawful actions wherever necessary to protect the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spokesperson further said that ICE did not target schools and called AFT\u2019s statement a false narrative.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just another false narrative to try and demonize our brave ICE law enforcement, who are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

AFT President Randi Weingarten launched a nationwide back-to-school boycott of Target for not condemning ICE operations in Minnesota. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cICE is not going to schools to arrest children\u2014we are protecting children. Criminals are no longer able to hide in America\u2019s schools to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement and instead trusts them to use common sense. If a dangerous illegal alien felon were to flee into a school, or a child sex offender is working as an employee, there may be a situation where an arrest is made to protect public safety,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cICE\u2019s position remains straightforward: its officers enforce the immigration laws enacted by Congress and carry out the agency\u2019s mission to protect national security and public safety. ICE is engaged in targeted law enforcement operations to apprehend and remove aliens in the country unlawfully and will continue to do so despite grandstanding by politicians and criminal illegal alien supporters,\u201d the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. \u201cAliens placed into removal proceedings receive due process. Once it is exhausted, ICE carries out the removal order. Dangerous rhetoric from politicians and activists demonizing our brave ICE officers has led to the over 8,000% increase in threats against DHS law enforcement who are heroically performing their congressionally mandated mission to remove criminal illegal aliens from communities across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corey DeAngelis, a Heritage Foundation research fellow, told Fox News Digital Sunday that using the organization\u2019s pension influence against Target raised fiduciary concerns and warranted a federal investigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis partisan war on Target <\/a>smells like a breach of fiduciary duty given that AFT members\u2019 pension funds own 6.79 million shares of Target stock, which Weingarten has already leveraged to pressure the company into opposing ICE,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Department of Justice should open an investigation into the AFT using their pension funds and political influence to bully companies into falling in line with their socialist agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weingarten urged members to \u201cShop Smart, Not Target\u201d via a website, citing \u201cfederal immigration abuses\u201d and \u201cterrorizing families.\u201d Getty Images for Democracy Forward<\/p>\n

\u201cUrging educators and families to avoid Target is not an appropriate use of the union\u2019s resources or influence,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the AFT\u2019s first time batting against the retail giant.<\/p>\n

DeAngelis also supplied Fox News Digital with a chart tracking\u00a0Target\u2019s closing share price\u00a0<\/a>against several AFT actions, including Weingarten\u2019s letters and the organization\u2019s March boycott resolution.<\/p>\n

Sonja Shaw, a candidate for California superintendent of public instruction and Chino Valley Unified School District board president, told Fox News Digital on Sunday that labor leaders were prioritizing political power while students continued to struggle academically.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeachers\u2019 unions are supposed to fight for teachers. Instead, union leadership has become a political machine obsessed with money, power and influence while our children continue to fall behind,\u201d she said. \u201cIn California, more than half our students are not proficient in basic reading and math. When a system produces those results year after year, that isn\u2019t success. That\u2019s\u00a0education malpractice.\u201d<\/p>\n

California\u2019s latest statewide assessments<\/a>\u00a0showed 48.8% of students met or exceeded English language arts standards and 37.3% met or exceeded math standards.<\/p>\n

Heritage Foundation\u2019s Corey DeAngelis called for a federal probe into AFT\u2019s use of pension funds to pressure Target. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The\u00a0AFT\u2019s March resolution<\/a>\u00a0explicitly called the effort a boycott and urged its 1.8 million members, families and allies to avoid Target until the company stood with the Twin Cities.<\/p>\n

DeAngelis\u2019 request followed the\u00a0July appeal<\/a>\u00a0by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., for the Labor Department to investigate whether AFT leaders coordinated with retirement-plan fiduciaries to use members\u2019 assets for political objectives.<\/p>\n

House lawmakers separately\u00a0demanded answers<\/a>\u00a0about reports that member dues helped finance Weingarten\u2019s book, \u201cWhy Fascists Fear Teachers,\u201d while she received royalties.<\/p>\n

Teachers spend an average of $895 of their own money every year on supplies their students need, according to a 2025\u00a0teacher spending survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital reached out to the AFT and Target for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.<\/p>\n

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