By bizn_fun 
The muted response from Target, which is headquartered in Minneapolis and has long been a corporate leader in the state, has drawn particular scrutiny.
It has added to the challenges at the firm, which has struggled to navigate political controversies related to its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices and LGBTQ merchandise.
“Target is Minnesota’s leading corporate citizen,” said Ulla Nilsen, an organiser with the immigrant rights non-profit Unidos Minnesota, which helped organise a rally outside Target’s Minneapolis headquarters on Monday.
“As a corporate citizen, are you going to stay silent and allow our democracy to be completely destroyed?”
Five people who worked at Target last month, most of whom spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, described growing frustration among staff sparked by the ICE response.
One Minnesota-based corporate employee in the marketing division told the BBC he handed in his two-week notice in mid-January, calling Target’s handling of the issue “a line too far”.
Another staffer, who works at a store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin located in a predominantly Hispanic neighbourhood, said he had not received guidance on what to do if ICE were to be deployed to the area, calling the lack of clarity “discouraging”.
But he said he was sceptical of demands that the firm challenge the ICE crackdown more directly.
“With the current administration right now, it seems like ICE kind of has a free-for-all to do whatever they want. And I don’t exactly see how Target is going to go against that,” he said.