ICE Agents Arrest Workers From Mexican Restaurant Where They Just Ate
AP Photo/John Locher
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents ate at a Mexican restaurant in Minnesota on Wednesday before arresting three of its employees who had just closed the establishment for the evening.
The arrests took place in Willmar, about two hours from Minneapolis, where ICE and the Border Patrol have stepped up their activities.
Thursday, the Minnesota All-Star Tribune reported:
An eyewitness, who declined to give his name for fear of retaliation, told the Minnesota Star Tribune that four ICE agents were sitting in a booth eating a meal at El Tapatio shortly before 3 p.m. Restaurant staff were frightened, said the eyewitness, who shared photos from the restaurant as well as video of the arrest.
The arrest took place around 8:30 p.m. near a Lutheran church and Willmar Middle School as officers followed the workers after they closed for the night. A handful of bystanders whistled and shouted at officers as they arrested people. “Would your mom be proud of you right now?” » asked one of the passers-by.
THE Grandstand of the stars said the immigration status of those arrested was unclear and added that the Department of Homeland Security had not responded to requests for information about the arrests.
In December, ICE agents in Brooklyn Park posed as customers at a coffee shop and lied to employees that a car had been hit in the parking lot. When the workers came out, one of them was arrested and taken away.
ICE is facing increased scrutiny of its operations. Last week, the agent Jonathan Ross shot dead, 37-year-old man Renee Bonne as she tried to get away from the officers. Several polls show that a majority of Americans do not believe the shooting was justified. A CNN poll showed that 51% of Americans think ICE makes cities less safe, while only 31% think it makes it safer. A Quinnipiac poll found that 57% of voters disapprove of how ICE operates.
White House Border Czar Tom Homan said Thursday that ICE needs to “be better at messaging.”
