As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests and detainments rise nationwide, multiple restaurants have been the target of ICE raids.
On Feb. 24, four restaurant workers at Mi Jalisco in Peterborough, N.H., were detained by ICE officials after searching the business. Over the past month, the community has “been on edge,” according to NHPR News, with community members asking questions about the legal status of the detained employees at town board meetings.
On Feb. 25, Celal and Emine Emanet, the owners of Jersey Kebab in Haddon Township, N.J., were arrested during an ICE raid on their restaurant. While Celal was released with an ankle monitor that day, Emine was detained at a detention center for two weeks before being released, according to ABC News. The couple had moved to the U.S. from Turkey on a religious visa and had been trying to appeal the expiration of their visa since 2016. After being closed for a month, Jersey Kebab reopened on Monday with a community-wide celebration.
On Feb. 28, Ping Ping Zheng, owner of Kamiya 86 Asian Bistro and Sushi Bar in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., pled guilty to “harboring illegal aliens for commercial advantage and private financial gain” following an ICE investigation. She faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
On March 24, Ming Xi Zhang, the owner of Ya Ya Noodles in Newark, N.J., was apprehended and convicted of “illegally acting as an agent of a foreign government,” after legally coming to the United States in 2000. He pled guilty to “acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China from March 2016 to October 2016,” according to ICE records.
While these are just a handful of cases currently ongoing, since the U.S. Center for Migration Studies estimates that there are approximately one million undocumented immigrants working in the restaurant industry today, and there are likely to be more as a result of the federal government immigration crackdown.
According to Ian Wagreich, partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson in the Labor & Employment group, the best thing a restaurant owner or employee can do is to stay informed, regardless of immigration status.
“If an individual owner or employee is detained by ICE, they should remain calm and should not sign anything presented to sign without first speaking with a lawyer,” Wagreich said. “These documents could potentially waive certain rights that are due to detained individuals. Remember that anyone detained has certain rights, including the right to remain silent, the right to legal counsel, the right to contact your consulate, and the right to due process.”
Other best practices include making sure to ask ICE agents for a warrant signed and dated by a judge.
“If the warrant is not signed by a judge, the officers have no right to use that warrant as an excuse to search the premises,” Wagreich said. “Be sure to document all essential details about the warrant, including the name of the supervising agent and any US attorney involved in the case.”
Immigration policies under the Trump administration continue to be questioned by the federal courts. In March, President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 in order to allow mass deportations of migrants with little or no due process of law. However, a lower court has blocked the president’s use of the act, and a D.C. federal appeals court ruled that the block can stand for now.
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