Walmart, ICE, and the Senator Who Almost Said It

WASHINGTON — On July 22, Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) stopped in the Capitol hallway and told me something Walmart executives should probably frame and hang in the break room—because sadly it’s as close to a senator telling them to go to hell as they’re going to get right now.

“These are just folks that are just living, man … and in this case, tased and taken down,” Luján said, shaking his head. “For companies to be saying to their customers that they’re okay if they get treated that way, I think you’re gonna see more and more customers answering back and clapping back at that, as well. … How can you not go pick up some eggs, or in this case deodorant and shampoo, and not know if you’re gonna get home?”

What Luján’s talking about: the July 7 arrest of Venezuelan asylum seeker and Walmart delivery driver Deivi Jose Molina-Pena, tackled and tased by ICE agents inside a Walmart off Coors Boulevard in Albuquerque. You can watch the video at the top of this post: three masked agents pile on as Molina-Pena screams, hits his head, and crumples to the floor. Walmart management’s role? Ordering the woman filming to stop and get off “private property.”

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Walmart, ICE, and the “Deliverista Wars”

Molina-Pena was one of the Venezuelan “deliveristas” driving for Walmart’s Spark grocery service. His family says he fled political persecution, worked two apps at once like every hustling gig worker, and woke up at 3 a.m. to make deliveries before being dragged to the floor in a Walmart aisle.

But the ICE raid wasn’t random. American-born Spark drivers in Albuquerque admitted to Source NM that they’ve been calling ICE’s hotline on their Venezuelan and Cuban coworkers. One driver bragged about sitting on hold for 90 minutes to “turn them in.” Another said he got more orders after ICE swept the parking lot at a Rio Rancho Walmart and hauled off as many as a dozen drivers.

ICE won’t confirm it, but the pattern is clear: Walmarts have become hunting grounds.

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Walmart’s Long Dance with ICE

This isn’t the first time Walmart’s name has been in ICE’s mouth. Back in 2003, Homeland Security’s “Operation Rollback” raided 61 Walmart stores and arrested 250 janitors. In 2017, lawsuits accused Walmart of looking the other way while contractors exploited undocumented cleaners. In Phoenix this February, activists launched a boycott of Walmart and Home Depot after day laborers were trespassed from store parking lots straight into ICE custody.

And in May, a Walmart worker in Nashville disappeared after a 12-hour shift—detained by ICE as he walked out of the store. His wife later found out through Facebook.

Walmart’s standard line is that it doesn’t coordinate with ICE. But when your store managers are shouting “private property” over the screams of a man being tased, the corporate disclaimers ring hollow.

Molina-Pena’s roommate says he hasn’t recovered from the head injury. His cousin worries he’ll be deported into Venezuela’s military prisons. His fellow drivers are already scattering—to Alabama, to other states—because Albuquerque no longer feels safe. “Our American dream is to sleep,” one Spark driver told Source. Instead, they spend their days looking over their shoulders in Walmart parking lots.

👉 MY TAKE: Luján didn’t say “boycott Walmart.” But he all but said it: “For companies to be saying to their customers that they’re okay if they get treated that way, I think you’re gonna see more and more customers answering back and clapping back at that.”

Translation: Walmart is running out of excuses. The aisle where you buy deodorant is not supposed to double as an ICE arrest stage.

Trump’s immigration machine has turned everyday places—parking lots, grocery stores, lunch breaks—into enforcement traps. Walmart, whether by negligence or convenience, keeps showing up as the stage set.

That’s why Luján’s near-slam matters. Because it’s not just about one store in Albuquerque. It’s about the line between commerce and complicity. Walmart can’t keep shrugging off that line forever.

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