The news was shocking, but not surprising: On January 15, four ICE agents ate at El Tapatio Mexican restaurant in Willmar, Minnesota and then returned that night to arrest three of the employees, according to an article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The behavior seems inhumane, but it is par for the course during these troubled times.
“The Administration’s surge in worksite enforcement actions across the country is part of a disturbing pattern: an immigration enforcement system focused on instilling fear rather than on upholding the law,” wrote attorney David Asser, a partner in the firm Messner Reeves, in a blog post on the Colorado Restaurant Association website.
Is your restaurant prepared for an ICE raid? Since the current crackdown began, there has been much written on this topic (click here to read an el Restaurante article on the topic), but restaurant managers with some experience in this area are now offering more ideas and key reminders about how to deal with what’s to come:
- Prepare an innocuous code phrase in advance, such as “That really big order is ready.” If ICE agents arrive, say the code phrase calmly so employees know what’s going on and can wait it out in a private space.
- ICE agents do not have the right to enter the private spaces in your restaurant such as those clearly marked “Employees Only” without a judicial warrant signed and dated by a judge.
- Don’t accept something from DHS or ICE called “warrant of removal/deportation” in place of a bona fide judicial warrant.
- Keep the door to private areas closed — an open door is an invitation. Also, alert staff that only management can grant access. That way they can honestly say, “I am not authorized to let you in.”
- Teach employees that remaining silent is their right — and that includes non-verbal communication. So, if an ICE agent says, “Everyone is who is not a citizen should go stand over there,” everyone should remain standing still.
- Delay, delay, delay. Hold up ICE agents in your front-of-house while someone calls the restaurant owner and/or your lawyer, who, hopefully, can hustle over and ensure the ICE agents have the correct paperwork... and send them packing if they don’t.
Many state restaurant associations are offering webinars and written guidance. Take advantage of those resources to make sure you are up to date on exactly how to deal with this problem.
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