Did Coca-Cola Actually Report Employees to ICE?
A lot of Latine people are boycotting Coca-Cola and its products. Currently, social media is filled with images and videos of people choosing Pepsi over Coca-Cola and even throwing away Coca-Cola products. But where did it all start, and why is there a boycott? The answer is confusing.
The boycott started after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on goods coming from Mexico. In response, a group started the Freeze Latino Movement, urging a boycott of major U.S. brands like Coca-Cola. On its website, the movement asks “Latinos and Latinas stop spending money. Hold the line. We can all collectively make a big impact by simply holding and not spending our money.”
But the boycott really took off after rumors spread that the company had not only fired Latine employees in Texas but also reported them to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
However, there is no solid reported evidence that this happened—the viral rumor started on TikTok and that’s where it has stayed, with no major news outlets confirming the veracity of the claims. There have also been no reports of Coca-Cola terminating a large number of employees either, and as a publicly traded company, this would need to be reported.
But rumors can sometimes be as powerful as verifiable reality, and now many Latine consumers are boycotting the company all the same. Coca-Cola logos are being painted over over on Threads.
Consumers are posting TikTok videos that show packed Coca-Cola products being left on the floor like trash.
There are videos of Latines in stores choosing Pepsi over Coca-Cola, and being vocal about it.
And there are videos that allegedly show people in different countries in Latin America protesting the brand in different ways.
Coca-Cola has not addressed claims of a boycott or claims they reported Latine employees to ICE.