Man reportedly fleeing Immigration raid at Monrovia Home Depot fatally struck on 210 Freeway (Photo – KGEM TV, CommunityMediaOfTheFoothills)
Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) this week led 25 Democratic members of Congress in sending a letter to the executive leadership of Home Depot Inc. and Lowe’s Home Improvement requesting information about the growing number of federal immigration enforcement operations occurring at or near the companies’ stores nationwide.
By News Desk
According to the lawmakers, the frequency of these operations has increased significantly since President Donald Trump took office, particularly after White House adviser Stephen Miller directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to target the stores in an effort to meet detention and deportation quotas.
The letter states that the enforcement operations have resulted in numerous incidents that have endangered workers, customers, day laborers, vendors and surrounding communities. Among the incidents cited are the arrests of U.S. citizens, physical altercations, dangerous vehicle pursuits, medical emergencies, injuries and the detention of individuals attempting to document enforcement activity.
Lawmakers also highlighted incidents they described as particularly alarming. In August 2025, Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, a 52-year-old laborer, was fatally struck by a vehicle on a nearby freeway after fleeing federal agents during an immigration enforcement operation at a Home Depot in Monrovia, California. In another incident outside a Home Depot in Los Angeles, federal agents arrested a U.S. citizen, entered the individual’s vehicle and drove away while the person’s 1-year-old daughter remained strapped into the back seat.
In the letter, the members acknowledged that Home Depot and Lowe’s do not control federal immigration enforcement operations and may not receive advance notice of such activity. However, they wrote that the repeated occurrence of these operations at or near company locations raises questions about what information the retailers possess and what measures they are taking to protect workers, customers, bystanders and nearby communities.
“As Members of Congress, we believe it is important to understand what information your companies possess regarding these incidents and what steps are being taken to protect the safety of workers, customers, bystanders, and surrounding communities,” the lawmakers wrote.
Salvador G. Sarmiento, staff attorney and campaign director at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), which endorsed the letter, called on the companies to take action.
“Doing nothing, while there is a human rights crisis happening in your community or at your stores, is not an option. And basic transparency is a modest and critical first step,” Sarmiento said. “Everyone is doing what we can, and we need these stores to show up and do something. Right now, these stores are doing nothing while their own neighbors and customers are in the crosshairs.”
In addition to Chu, the letter was signed by Reps. Brad Sherman, Norma J. Torres, Lateefah Simon, Rashida Tlaib, Delia C. Ramirez, Robert Garcia, Dan Goldman, Nanette Diaz Barragán, LaMonica McIver, J. Luis Correa, Maxine Waters, Luz M. Rivas, Juan Vargas, Raúl Ruiz, Pramila Jayapal, Greg Stanton, Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr., Julia Brownley, Jesús G. “Chuy” Garcia, Yassamin Ansari, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Adelita S. Grijalva, Jimmy Gomez, Zoe Lofgren and Scott H. Peters.
The lawmakers requested information from Home Depot and Lowe’s about the scope of immigration enforcement operations occurring at or near their stores and the steps the companies are taking to safeguard employees, customers and surrounding communities.
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