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A national teachers union is calling for a boycott of Target during the back-to-school shopping season, citing the company’s response to the federal immigration enforcement surge in the Twin Cities. 

The American Federation of Teachers pressed the Minneapolis-based company to take a stronger stand against ICE earlier this year. Union president Randi Weingarten sent multiple letters to Target CEO Michael Fiddelke asking the company to call for an end to the surge. 

In a statement last week, the union said it “did not receive a constructive response,” prompting the call for a boycott.  

“We're disappointed that Target has failed to live up to its promises to be a good neighbor to the families who have shopped there for years,” Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Vice Presidents Natasha Dockter said in a statement. 

 during the surge of federal agents to Minnesota. Protesters asked the company to speak out against the surge, following reports of multiple people detained by federal agents at Target locations. 

In February, a Target spokesperson said the company does not have any cooperation agreements with ICE. The company signed on to an open letter asking for peace and collaboration between state and federal officials; that letter did not directly mention ICE or call for an end to the surge. 

A company spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the call for a boycott. 

In a statement, the American Federation of Teachers said teachers and parents often spend hundreds of dollars a year on back-to-school supplies at Target and encouraged them to shop elsewhere this year.

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Immigration enforcement in Minnesota

Estelle Timar-Wilcox

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A union is urging parents and teachers to do back-to-school shopping elsewhere, citing Target’s decision not to call for an end to the surge of federal agents to the Twin Cities earlier this year.

Teachers call for Target boycott over ICE response

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