Tension in Washington, D.C. Rises As ICE Raids Local Restaurants, Requesting I-9 Forms: 'It Is Disrupting'

Washington D.C. is on edge as reports show an increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in businesses across the area over the past days. Just this week, several restaurants were allegedly visited by the agency, with agents requesting establishments' updated I-9 forms.

On Tuesday, several restaurants, including local pizza chain Pupatella in Dupont Circle, Chef Geoff's near AU Park, Ghostburger in Shaw, and Millie's in Spring Valley confirmed ICE activity, per Washingtonian and Fox5. Unconfirmed testimonies also flooded social media, pointing at raids in Jaleo in Gallery Place, Clyde's in Georgetown, Chang Chang in Dupont Circle, Call Your Mother on Georgia Avenue and Santa Rosa on Capitol Hill.

At Millie's, Washingtonian reported that several officers, some armed, swarmed the upscale Nantucket-style restaurant around lunchtime demanding I-9 papers. When ICE agents asked to question employees, a manager said they couldn't and wasn't met with resistance.

Owner Bo Blair told Washingtonian that he wasn't worried about his business, and he thinks the raids are misdirected.

"We were under the impression that they were focusing on trying to find criminals," Blair, who once ran Georgetown's Republican hotspot Smith Point, told the outlet. "And this is just a whole new level of harassment to our hard-working, law-abiding employees."

Rumors of the raids had been floating around since Monday. Migrant Insider, an outlet focused on immigration in the Washington, D.C. area, reported then that ICE was preparing to conduct raids on Tuesday and Wednesday in the nation's capital, focusing on undocumented workers in the restaurant and gig economy sectors.

That report added ICE agents planned to initiate operations after breakfast hours and before dinner time, specifically targeting: "restaurant workers with a particular focus on employees at Subway franchises. Delivery workers using scooters, especially those working for DoorDash."

The publication also warned that the agency was planning on targeting the Mundo Verde Public Charter School, a bilingual charter school where many of the students are immigrants or have immigrant parents, later this week.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters Tuesday she was aware and concerned about the raids in local businesses.

"I have heard those reports, I've been getting them all morning. I am disturbed by them," she said. "It appears that ICE is at restaurants or even in neighborhoods, and it doesn't look like they're targeting criminals. It is disrupting."

Likewise, the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington— which represents more than 60,000 restaurants in the area— said in a statement that it was "deeply concerned" by the reports of ICE raids and drop-ins across Washington, D.C.

"Immigrants make up a significant portion of our workforce at all levels. From dishwashers to executive chefs to restaurant owners, immigrants are irreplaceable contributors to our most celebrated restaurants and beloved neighborhood establishments," the statement said. "The immigrant workforce has been essential to sustaining and growing our local restaurant industry and has been a major contributor to our local economy."

"At a time when our economy is already fragile, losing even one staff member at a single establishment has a profound impact on the operations of a restaurant and its ability to serve patrons. Disrupting restaurant staffing across the industry can create a damaging ripple effect felt immediately throughout the entire economy," the statement continued.

There have been no confirmed detentions thus far. According to a new report from Migrant Insider, ICE is expected to remain active in D.C. through at least Wednesday, but the I-9 notices suggest they could be in town longer.