Teacher’s union boss Randi Weingarten is taking aim at Target over the company’s lack of public condemnation for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president upped the pressure on the retail giant with a statement urging Target shoppers to purchase their school supplies elsewhere, the latest bullying tactic by the unhinged left-wing lesbian.
Weingarten escalated after previously demanding that the Minneapolis-based big box chain take a political stance against ICE after the deaths of two militant left-wing activists who were shot during confrontations with immigration enforcement agents early this year. She sent letters to Target CEO Michael Fiddelke in January and March urging him to call for ICE to get out of Minnesota, and now her patience has run out.
BREAKING: Randi Weingarten launched a website to direct people to shop at stores other than Target for back-to-school.
Why? Because Target “refused to condemn” ICE.
She mentions her union’s pension owns 6.79 million shares of Target stock.
Sounds like a threat. pic.twitter.com/Rhz6JIgQdH
— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) August 21, 2026
“We gave Target ample time to stand with the communities in which they operate and help their neighbors, but its silence about federal immigration abuses has been deafening,” Weingarten said in a statement. “We wrote letters, passed resolutions and reached out to management in good faith but have yet to see any meaningful movement.”
“The issue could not be more pressing,” she continued. “Seven months since the murders of Alex Pretti and Renée Good, masked ICE agents are still in our streets, our schools and our communities, terrorizing families in the name of Donald Trump’s illegal and immoral assault on immigrants striving for their American Dream. That’s why we’re urging our members to avoid Target and patronize more ethical shopping alternatives this back-to-school season.”
The statement directs parents and teachers to the new website ShopSmart.AFT.org that “helps educators and families shop for school supplies at local stores and outlets that respect labor rights, instead of at Target.”
BREAKING: Randi Weingarten announces her new website directing people to shop at stores other than Target.
Why? Because Target “remained silent” on ICE.
Not because they promoted ICE. But because they didn’t actively oppose ICE.
The crazy teachers unions must be dismantled. pic.twitter.com/KlkY4WNm2y
— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) August 22, 2026
“The AFT’s 1.875 million members spend an average of $895 of their own money on school supplies each year and hold billions in Target stock via their pension accounts. In March, the union passed a resolution demanding the Minneapolis-based business speak up against the ICE atrocities in their own backyard and called for a comprehensive back-to-school campaign if it failed to take meaningful action,” the union’s statement read.
It’s not the first time that the company has found itself in the crosshairs of left-wing activists.
Last year, racial shakedown artist Rev. Al Sharpton pressured Target after the retailer backed off from some discriminatory Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives after President Donald J. Trump took office.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rejected Weingarten’s dishonest smears.
“ICE enforces federal immigration laws, protects public safety, and conducts enforcement pursuant to federal laws and applicable agency policies. Target is not a sensitive location,” an ICE spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. “However, the current policy provides guidance for officers and recognizes that enforcement actions in or near protected areas require consideration of the circumstances and applicable law. ICE will continue to conduct lawful actions wherever necessary to protect the American people.”
“ICE is not going to schools to arrest children—we are protecting children. Criminals are no longer able to hide in America’s schools to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement and instead trusts them to use common sense,” they continued. “If a dangerous illegal alien felon were to flee into a school, or a child sex offender is working as an employee, there may be a situation where an arrest is made to protect public safety.”
“ICE’s position remains straightforward: its officers enforce the immigration laws enacted by Congress and carry out the agency’s mission to protect national security and public safety. ICE is engaged in targeted law enforcement operations to apprehend and remove aliens in the country unlawfully and will continue to do so despite grandstanding by politicians and criminal illegal alien supporters,” the spokesperson said.
The Heritage Foundation’s Corey DeAngelis suggested that a federal investigation may be merited over the union’s attempt to weaponize the pension fund against Target.
“This partisan war on Target smells like a breach of fiduciary duty given that AFT members’ pension funds own 6.79 million shares of Target stock, which Weingarten has already leveraged to pressure the company into opposing ICE,” DeAngelis told Fox News Digital. “The Department of Justice should open an investigation into the AFT using their pension funds and political influence to bully companies into falling in line with their socialist agenda.”
“Urging educators and families to avoid Target is not an appropriate use of the union’s resources or influence,” he said.
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