Home Depot doesn’t have a $250M government deal allowing for immigration arrests

It’s become a common scene in the news and social media feeds: Federal immigration agents descend on day laborers seeking work outside of big box home improvement stores.

Now some are speculating that the Trump administration’s effort to deliver on its campaign promise of widescale deportations includes a formal arrangement with Home Depot.

"Soooo…. Home Depot signed a deal that pays them $250 million with DHS, allowing ICE agents to stake out their parking lots and arrest immigrants," a July 28 Threads post read. We saw similar claims on Threads, TikTok and Instagram. 

But the American home improvement retailer told PolitiFact — and at least one Threads poster — that the claim is wrong.

(Screenshot of Threads post)

"This story is false," Home Depot spokesperson Beth Marlowe told PolitiFact in an Aug. 4 email.  "We don’t have contracts with DHS or ICE. We aren’t notified that ICE activities are going to happen, and we aren't involved in them. In many cases, we don't know that arrests have taken place until after they're over."

DHS said on X that the agency has no contract with Home Depot. 

We looked at the Federal Procurement Data System, which provides information on government contracts to the public. We found the last contract Home Depot had with ICE was in 2017 and it was a purchase order for paint-related products. It also shows delivery orders for floor coverings and construction. The last contract it shows with DHS was in 2023 and it was for plywood and veneer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Lastly, Home Depot had a 2017 contract with U.S. Customs and Border Protection for hardware and other construction materials.

We searched the Nexis news database and found no reports of a contract between Home Depot and DHS. 

For years, construction contractors have sought workers outside Home Depot and Lowes parking lots, where people looking for temporary manual labor  jobs gather. These people are often immigrants from Latin American countries, including places that the Trump administration’s policies have targeted, including Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Newsweek reported July 14 of a California woman detained by Border Patrol agents outside of a Home Depot. NBC Los Angeles also reported that 37 people were arrested by federal agents at three different Home Depot locations June 30 in Los Angeles County. 

In late May, White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller directed ICE agents to target day laborers at Home Depot and at 7-Eleven convenience stores, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Marlowe told PolitiFact that employees are instructed to report any immigration raids to their managers. The incidents are logged into a database that tracks other major store incidents such as shoplifting.

"We ask associates to report any suspected immigration enforcement operations immediately and not to engage for their safety,’ Marlowe said. "If associates feel uncomfortable after witnessing ICE activity, we offer them the flexibility they need to take care of themselves and their families."

ICE can enter the public space of any workplace without a warrant. This includes an office lobby, supermarkets and retail stores. However, ICE is not allowed to enter private spaces, such as employee-only areas, without a judicial warrant, according to law firm websites. 

We found no evidence that Home Depot signed a $250 million deal with DHS allowing immigration arrests on its properties. We rate this claim False.