An immigration raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) generated chaos, outrage and public debate in San Diego after it was executed last Friday, May 31, at the Buona Forchetta and Enoteca Buona Forchetta restaurants, located in the South Park neighborhood.
Three Mexican employees were detained, some in handcuffs, and the store had to close unexpectedly in the middle of rush hour, according to Efe news agency.
Employees handcuffed and restaurant closed
Nice to see San Diego fighting back against Trump’s masked and warrantless gestapo
– TACO (@Nublinski) May 31, 2025
According to Renato Ametrano, general manager of the restaurant, ICE agents arrived unannounced around 4:30 p.m., surrounded the building and entered with guns.
“They pushed me against the wall and handcuffed everyone. It was very traumatic,” the manager told the local San Diego Union Tribune.
He indicated that at least three workers were detained for not presenting valid identification and that other employees left the site in a state of shock.
The restaurant, which had multiple reservations that night, had to close.
The scene, described by witnesses as chaotic, was documented by residents who gathered to support personnel.
According to Efe news agency, the agents detained three Mexican workers in the raid, but all those present confronted them and, while the officers retreated to their vehicles, the restaurant’s customers followed them while shouting at them to leave and recording with cell phones, images that went viral.
In a video posted by CBS San Diego, local residents can be seen chanting “Shame!” as ICE raided the Italian restaurant.
Criticism from the mayor and congressmen
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria harshly criticized the raid.
“These types of actions do not generate security, but fear. I raised my objections directly with the Homeland Security Investigations directorate and will continue to stand up for the rights of everyone in our city,” he said in a statement Saturday.
Federal Congressmen Juan Vargas, Scott Peters and Sara Jacobs, all representing the San Diego area, condemned the operation.
Vargas called it a “grave mistake,” noting that it was a tactical weapons raid on a family restaurant full of diners.
“It was neither the place nor the time,” stated Juan Vargas.
Scott Peters charged that ICE failed to keep its promise to target dangerous criminals and instead detained kitchen and janitorial workers.
In addition, the legislators indicated that this operation would have been authorized by federal authorities, possibly under the influence of conservative advisor Stephen Miller, with a goal of 3,000 arrests per day.
Protests and community support
On Saturday, dozens of people demonstrated outside Buona Forchetta with banners and messages of support for the workers.
The owner of the restaurant, Matteo Cattaneo, said he was in shock.
“It was crazy. I don’t understand why these people were taken away. We want to do the right thing and support our employees.”
Cattaneo assured that all his workers have submitted legal documents, although he acknowledged that “no one can know for sure”.
Buona Forchetta reopened on Saturday, but other branches decided to close temporarily.
Legal and constitutional concerns
Buzzy
The congressmen emphasized that detaining people without charges constitutes a possible violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects against arbitrary detention.
They blamed the federal court that authorized the operation for the “chaos unleashed”.
The incident, widely reported in the media and social networks, has once again ignited the debate about the use of ICE’s power in public places and the need to safeguard the dignity of immigrant workers in the US.
Fue una locura. No entiendo por qué se llevaron a estas personas. Queremos hacer lo correcto y apoyar a nuestros empleados
