{"id":45988,"date":"2026-01-10T13:24:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T21:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=45988"},"modified":"2026-01-10T13:24:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T21:24:55","slug":"want-to-stop-ice-go-after-its-corporate-collaborators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/01\/10\/want-to-stop-ice-go-after-its-corporate-collaborators\/","title":{"rendered":"Want to Stop ICE? Go After Its Corporate Collaborators"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ICE can\u2019t function without help from the private sector. So we should force the private sector to stop helping.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Jan 9, 2026<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Eric Blanc, Claire Sandberg, and Wes McEnany<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Renee Nicole Good\u2019s murder<\/a> by an ICE agent in Minneapolis has left millions of Americans wondering how we can stop ICE from terrorizing our communities any further. There are many well-known ICE-fighting tactics that we can and should use, like protests, know-your-rights trainings, and neighborhood watches. But two recent victories show a promising, relatively underutilized path forward\u2014one that deserves to be pursued further: we can target businesses to break from ICE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ICE relies heavily on the private sector to help carry out its Gestapo-like crusade against immigrants and their allies. Without the logistical, financial, and political support of business, its capacity to terrorize our communities would crumble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past week, activists around the country successfully pushed<\/a> Avelo Airlines to stop running deportation charter flights, and workers<\/a> in Minneapolis pushed a local Hilton affiliate to stop renting rooms to ICE agents. But these wins are just a fraction of what could be achieved if the millions of people who are outraged by ICE\u2019s thuggery organize to pressure all<\/em> companies to stop working with ICE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(Robin Lubbock\/WBUR)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s Pillars of Support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Anti-authoritarian scholars and organizers stress that the most important thing for pro-democracy movements to do is to peel away a regime\u2019s \u201cpillars of support.\u201d<\/a> Even the most despotic of regimes can\u2019t rule without the backing or consent of powerful external institutions. Businesses are society\u2019s most important non-state institutions, and most of the biggest ones in America are collaborating with Trump, making themselves a very steady pillar of support for his rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These mega-corporations have immense financial and political power. It may seem like there\u2019s nothing to be done to bring them to heel. But the successes with Avelo Airlines and the Minneapolis Hilton\u2014as well as earlier pressure campaigns like the #Tesla Takedown, the fight to force Disney to rehire Jimmy Kimmel, and the boycott of Target over its Trump-friendly anti-DEI moves\u2014show the immense leverage that consumers and workers have when provided an opportunity. We are not <\/em>powerless, and there are concrete actions anyone can take to start eroding Trump\u2019s support from big business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumer pressure campaigns can start with petition gathering and social media callouts, then escalate to coordinated one-day boycotts. Workers have even more leverage: employees can circulate internal petitions calling on their CEOs to cut ties with ICE and organize collective actions like sick-outs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tactics can include rallies in front of targeted stores, flyering customers about a company\u2019s ICE contracts or collaboration, and nonviolent civil disobedience that makes clear that business as usual won\u2019t stand. Other creative ideas include setting up anonymous tip lines for employees to whistleblow on non-public ICE collaborations, pressuring job sites like Monster.com and Indeed to stop featuring ICE job listings, asking local small businesses to post \u201cImmigrants Welcome Here\u201d placards, and writing online reviews calling out companies\u2019 collaboration with ICE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key is providing people with concrete, outwards-facing activities they can take right now, while building an escalating national campaign that can culminate in larger coordinated days of nonviolent disruption\u2014for example, on May 1, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National online mass calls and trainings can give large numbers of people the tools they need to get started. National unions, immigrant rights groups, and organizations like Indivisible and the Democratic Socialists of America can leverage their volunteer activists and resources to help launch and support the campaign. And high-profile politicians like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Chris Murphy, and Zohran Mamdani can use their platforms to build momentum around this urgent fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corporate Targets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The most strategic corporate targets fall into three categories: low-lift national targets, high-lift national targets, and local targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Low-lift national targets<\/strong> are mostly public-facing companies with relatively small ICE contracts that are set to expire soon, making them particularly vulnerable to consumer and employee pressure. Campaigns against companies like these can play a crucial role in generating further momentum against ICE, Trump, and their worst corporate collaborators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n