Wait, Did Coca-Cola Actually Report Employees to ICE? Sorting Fact From Fiction

At the start of 2025, Coca-Cola found itself at the center of a boycott after President Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on imported goods from Mexico. In response, Mexican Americans and other Latinos launched the "Freeze Latino Movement," a campaign urging the boycott of major U.S. brands like Coca-Cola and Sam's Club. The movement carried extra weight given Trump’s well-known love for Diet Coke.

Shortly after, Coca-Cola faced another controversy as a rumor spread that the company not only fired employees in Texas, presumably Latinos, but also reported them to ICE. Considering Coca-Cola’s Latin America division serves roughly 530 million consumers, such actions — if true — would be a bold and risky move. But before jumping to conclusions, let’s examine whether this rumor holds any truth.

There’s zero solid evidence to back up the viral rumor on TikTok that Coca-Cola fired thousands of Latino employees, reported them to ICE, and had them deported in 2025. No major news outlet has picked up the claim, and let’s be real — if something this big actually happened, you better believe it would be making headlines everywhere.

Let's also remember that Coca-Cola is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange, which means it has to disclose certain financial information. While not all layoffs require public reporting, a massive termination of thousands of employees would almost certainly impact the company’s financial performance — meaning it would likely show up in SEC filings, which are available for anyone to check. And guess what? There’s nothing there. No recent SEC filings, no press releases, and no official reports.

Now, Coca-Cola did reportedly lay off over 75 employees at its Grand Prairie, Texas, plant, but that happened in 2021 and has nothing to do with this TikTok-fueled controversy. They were let go simply because the plant was closing.

Now, let’s talk about the rumor in the context of ICE deportation laws, because this part really doesn’t add up. If Coca-Cola had thousands of undocumented employees, that would mean the company knowingly hired illegal workers — only to then snitch on itself by calling ICE?

It's not just unlikely, it’s illogical. Now, Coca-Cola, like any major corporation, can hire immigrants as long as they have proper work documentation. And even if the company did lay them off, ICE wouldn’t just show up and start deporting people. Most immigrants with work authorization have a 60-day grace period after being let go, meaning they can legally stay in the U.S. while finding another job or extending their visa.

At the end of the day, while no company is above shady behavior, this claim doesn’t stand as is. If the workers were undocumented, Coca-Cola would be admitting to illegal hiring practices, which would have major legal and financial consequences. And if they were legally employed, ICE wouldn’t have the authority to deport them so quickly.

So, the verdict on all this? It’s just a rumor until solid evidence comes to light.