About 40 anti-ICE activists are arrested at protest inside Target in South Philly

Michelle Myers and Robert Moran, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Feb 5, 2026

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PHILADELPHIA — About 40 people were arrested after an activist group Thursday evening conducted a demonstration inside a Target store in South Philadelphia to demand that the company take a public stand against ICE enforcement actions at the chain’s stores.

More than 100 demonstrators affiliated with No ICE Philly chanted “ICE out of Target now!” and played instruments inside the store near Snyder Avenue and Interstate 95. Some shoppers joined the chanting.

Shortly before 6 p.m., the protesters were given their first warning by police to leave or be arrested. Dozens then left, but a group of 40 or so remained inside seated on the floor. Around 6:15 p.m., police began making arrests without incident. Three remaining protesters were given citations and allowed to leave, police said.

The zip-tied detainees were led by police out of the store one by one to cheers from other protesters outside.

The demonstration and subsequent arrests did not deter shoppers from going about their business, entering and leaving the store.

A man dressed in a bear costume and wearing an action camera harnessed to his chest showed up and yelled at the activists inside the store, calling them “weirdos.” Police intervened to prevent an escalation.

Benita Dixon, 66, accompanied by her granddaughter, was at the store to buy a Valentine’s Day present for her daughter when the protest broke out.

Dixon’s first reaction was to get a tighter grip on her granddaughter’s hand but when chanting began, the pair joined in dancing with protesters.

“ICE has been going around killing people in Minnesota and that’s not right,” Dixon said. “Many of my coworkers are coming into work carrying their passports because they are scared, so I’m glad we are protesting: No ICE in our streets.”

Protests coordinated by No ICE Philly were conducted last month at Target stores around Philadelphia, including in Center City, Fairmount, Port Richmond, and South Philadelphia.

Across the country, protesters — including employees of the company — have been calling for Target to publicly oppose the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota, the company’s home state, and deny ICE agents who do not have judicial warrants access to Target stores and parking lots.

“Target does not have cooperative agreements with any immigration enforcement agency,” a company executive said in a memo to employees on Jan. 22, Business Insider reported.

A day after two ICE agents fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, where Target is headquartered, then-incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke co-signed a joint statement from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce with dozens of other executives, “calling for an immediate deescalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions.”

Pretti’s Jan. 24 killing in Minneapolis was the second in less than a month. On Jan. 7, an ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good.

A Target spokesperson said in an email that Fiddelke also sent a note to employees saying “the violence and loss of life in our community is incredibly painful” and that “we are doing everything we can to manage what’s in our control, always keeping the safety of our team and guests our top priority.”

Target, founded in 1962, operates 1,989 stores across the United States and has a net revenue of more than $100 billion a year.

The company was hit with a national boycott last year after it rolled back Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives to fall in line with the policies of President Donald Trump.

No ICE Philly has led demonstrations against the agency and against the arrests of immigrants outside the city Criminal Justice Center.

At the Target in South Philadelphia, Rabbi Linda Holtzman, 73, said the in-store protest is what people must do when neighbors are under attack.

“What ICE is doing, what they have been doing, is horrible and we stand with the people of Minneapolis,” Holtzman said.

Protesting at the South Philadelphia Target is a way to tell the company they must stand up on the side of the people, Holtzman said.

“Target has become an ally to ICE, letting them come into their stores without a warrant,” Holtzman said. “That’s not the America I grew up in. Is that the country you want?”