Full Breakdown
Boycott Campaign Targets Corporations Linked to ICE Amid Holiday Shopping Season
11/27/2025, 9:08:15 PM
Overview of the Boycott Campaign
A coalition of advocacy groups, led by the Gen Z organization Beyond the Ballot, has launched a boycott campaign titled “Not With My Dollars: ICE Out of My Wallet.” This initiative aims to pressure major corporations that are perceived to enable or profit from the practices of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the broader policies of the Trump administration. The campaign coincides with the peak holiday shopping season, starting just before Black Friday, and targets companies such as Amazon, Whole Foods, Dell, Microsoft, Home Depot, Spotify, and Target.
Key Targets and Rationale
The campaign specifically highlights the following corporations for their alleged complicity with ICE:
- Amazon: Criticized for its cloud service, Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is described as essential for ICE's operational capabilities.
- Whole Foods: As a subsidiary of Amazon, purchases at Whole Foods are seen as indirectly supporting ICE.
- Home Depot: Accused of allowing ICE agents to detain individuals in its stores and parking lots without proper legal warrants.
- Microsoft: Under scrutiny for a $19.4 million contract with ICE to provide data processing capabilities.
- Dell: Linked to an $18.8 million contract supplying Microsoft software licenses to ICE.
- Spotify: Targeted for airing ICE recruitment ads.
- Target: Criticized for rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and cooperating with the Trump administration's policies.
Victor Rivera, executive director of Beyond the Ballot, stated, “Every dollar spent at a complicit corporation is a dollar funding the abduction and disappearance of our neighbors.”
Broader Implications and Goals
The campaign seeks to raise awareness about corporate complicity in ICE operations and aims for long-term accountability rather than a temporary boycott. Beyond the Ballot emphasizes that to be removed from the boycott list, targeted corporations must fulfill specific demands outlined for each company. The campaign encourages consumers to redirect their spending towards local businesses and Black-owned enterprises, asserting that “communities, not corporations, hold the power.”
Criticism and Opposition
The boycott has faced criticism from the targeted companies. For instance, a spokesperson for Home Depot denied allegations of coordinating with ICE, stating, “This is untrue – we aren't coordinating with ICE.” Similarly, Target has defended its commitment to community investment, citing a $100 million investment in Black-led organizations and a goal to invest $2 billion in Black-owned businesses.
On-the-Ground Actions
Protests are planned at various locations, including Home Depot and Target stores in Greater Cleveland, to coincide with the Black Friday shopping rush. Activists aim to leverage economic pressure to influence corporate behavior regarding their ties to ICE. Kameron Damaska, an organizer for the protests, emphasized the need for collective economic action, stating, “Money talks. As long as these corporations think it is more economically viable to just go along with this Trump administration, they’ll keep doing that.”
Conclusion
The “Not With My Dollars” campaign reflects a growing movement among activists to hold corporations accountable for their partnerships with ICE. As the holiday shopping season unfolds, the coalition aims to ensure that the financial support for ICE-related companies becomes unprofitable, advocating for a shift in consumer spending towards businesses that align with their values.
