ICE officers detained multiple Mexican restaurant workers just hours after eating lunch in a Willmar, Minnesota restaurant Wednesday. Four ICE officers entered El Tapatio around 3 p.m., only to return just after the restaurant closed. They detained three restaurant workers. Eyewitnesses told the Minnesota Star Tribune that staff were frightened when the officers came to dine earlier in the day.
The arrests happened around 8:30 p.m. that night as officers followed the workers after closing the restaurant. Bystanders gathered, with one asking, “Would your mama be proud of you right now?”
Similar arrests are happening all across the state.
A worker from Pancho’s Taqueria and Mexican Cafe in Circle Pines, Minnesota was detained by ICE officers on Jan. 13. According to a GoFundMe page by the restaurant’s owner, Stacey Chase, the worker was moved from Minnesota to El Paso, Texas within 12 hours. Chase wrote in the fundraiser description that the worker has a permit to work legally. They have raised nearly $25,000 for his family and legal fees.
On Dec. 12, ICE officers sat at a Brooklyn Park, Minnesota coffee shop for an hour pretending to be customers. “After another agent arrived, they claimed to have hit a car in the parking lot and summoned the workers outside,” the Minnesota Star Tribune reported. “The man was suddenly handcuffed and taken away.”
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Even without arrests, the threat of ICE imposes a chilling effect on restaurants. CBS News reported Thursday that El Rodeo, a Mexican restaurant in Maple Grove, Minnesota, closed their doors due to staffing shortages from employees fearful of returning to work.
“A GoFundMe was created to help our employees who have been impacted by recent events,” a Facebook post from the restaurant said. “Thank you for letting us be a part of this community for so long and we hope to be able to continue to be a part of it.”
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