With the Trump administration pulling off all brakes for a wide-scale deportation campaign, businesses both big and small have felt pressure to take a stance against the targeting of migrants.
Avelo Airlines, a Houston-based low-cost airline that serves many secondary markets, spurred a wave of protests across different cities for continuing to use three of its Boeing 737-800s (BA)  planes to run deportation flights for U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE).
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Back in May, chief executive Andrew Levy added further fuel to the fire by saying that the contract to “support the Department’s deportation efforts” was “controversial [but…] too valuable not to pursue.”
‘This is false’: Home Depot responds to social media claims
The latest company to fall under the radar of how it can help or hinder Trump’s deportation campaign is home goods chain giant Home Depot (HD) . Parking lots of store locations in several parts of California became the main target for ICE raids this summer.Â
In one standoff at the start of June, federal agents rounded up and took away over 40 day laborers people at a location in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Parking lots in front of the store often end up becoming gathering spots for those looking for temporary work. Many laborers come from Latin American countries such as Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras and get offered day jobs from small employers who come to the parking lots to seek them out.
“They are trying to earn a living and have a tough decision to make: pop my head out and get deported or don’t and can’t support my family,” George Carrillo, who heads the national Hispanic Construction Council, said to CNBC.
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As a result, many rumors around what role Home Depot itself is playing in these round-ups have circulated on social media. To contradict them, representatives have been replying under posts claiming that the retailer has accepted a $250 million Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contract for access to their parking lots to conduct deportations.
“Hi, this story is false,” Home Depot wrote under one such post. “We don’t have contracts with DHS or ICE. We aren’t notified that ICE activities are going to happen, and we aren’t involved in them.”
Under another post making a similar claim on July 27, Home Deport similarly stated that these claims “are false” and that it “isn’t involved” in any raids.
Image Source: Tim Boyle/Getty Images
‘We have a longstanding no-solicitation policy’
Even so, Home Depot has faced mounting pressure to speak out against the campaigns in the communities they operate in. Some social media users have called for a boycott, while others have been replying under every post on the Home Depot account with questions about what it is doing to close off store grounds to deportations.
“Why have you continued to allow ICE raids on your properties?” one commenter with the profile name Laurie wrote under Home Depot’s denial of signing an ICE contract.
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“Like many businesses, we have a longstanding no-solicitation policy, which prohibits anybody from selling goods or services on our property,” a Home Depot spokesperson told CNBC. “[…] We instruct associates to report the incident immediately and not to engage in the activity for their safety.”
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