Minnesota clergy members aren’t backing down from Target, and they just successfully pressured the retail giant’s leadership into a face-to-face meeting.
On Thursday, more than 100 faith leaders from across the state gathered outside the Downtown Minneapolis Target store before marching to corporate headquarters for a peaceful sit-in that lasted seven hours.
The group, organized by the multi-faith coalition ISAIAH, is demanding that Target take a public stand against the recent “surge” of ICE activity in Minnesota. The tension hit a boiling point after ICE agents reportedly entered a Target store in Richfield and forcibly detained multiple employees, who were actually U.S. citizens.
Target must be a corporate leader in ensuring that this hellfire does not continue to rain on this state or anyone else,” said JaNaé Bates Imari, an Auxiliary Minister from St. Paul. “Now is the time… We stop talking about how horrible things are and truly do something about it… We know that corporations have the ability, they have the power to stop this.”
The clergy aren’t just asking for a conversation; they have a specific list of demands for the Minneapolis-based company:
• Publicly call for an immediate end to the ICE surge and for federal agents to leave the state.
• Formally affirm all Target locations as “4th Amendment workplaces” to protect staff and shoppers from warrantless searches.
• Publicly lobby Congress to stop funding ICE.
During the sit-in, faith leaders prayed, sang, and even celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday while waiting for a response. While Target leadership was initially silent, and reportedly even hung up on a brief phone call, CEO Brian Cornell eventually agreed to an in-person meeting scheduled for Monday, Jan. 19.
Despite the breakthrough, the coalition made it clear they aren’t celebrating yet. In a media release, the group stated that there is no victory until Target actually leverages its massive corporate power to “meaningfully protect their workers, their customers, and the communities in the state they call home.”
On Tuesday, over 150 members of the clergy gathered at Target Headquarters to protest the issue of allowing ICE to detain employees while working.
Do not spend any money at @Target. #DemsUnited pic.twitter.com/tx8C0oppej— Rod (Izzy) Ⓜ️Ⓜ️ 🇺🇸🦅 (@1zzyzyx1) January 17, 2026
