U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement carried out an immigration raid late Friday afternoon at a popular South Park restaurant, Buona Forchetta, and its sister operation next door. Agents detained a handful of employees and the restaurant ownership decided to close for dinner.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can confirm that ICE San Diego conducted two worksite enforcement operations at Buona Forchetta and Enoteca Buona Forchetta Restaurants in San Diego, Ca,” Yasmeen Pitts O’ Keefe, deputy press secretary, Southwest Team, said in a statement Friday. “As this is an ongoing investigation, we have no further releasable information at this time,”
Renato Ametrano, general manager of Buona Forchetta, described the surprise raid as very traumatizing for all the employees, who he said were handcuffed and subsequently asked for their identification. He said he believed three workers were taken away after being unable to produce ID.
“They just show up and with no explanation,” he said, after the agents had left. “I would say there were 20, 25 of them. They surround the building and they come inside and literally push me to the wall. And they handcuff everyone.”
The agents, he said, arrived around 4:30 p.m. and stayed for a little more than an hour. During the course of the operation, a large crowd grew out on the street, many of them from the neighborhood who came to the restaurant, he said. It did get quite loud at times, he noted.
Ametrano said he had no idea what prompted the raid, but came to the defense of the Buona Forchetta ownership. The restaurant is one of multiple dining venues in San Diego County and in Orange County owned by Matteo Cattaneo. The South Park location is the first restaurant he opened locally.
“This is a very, very good company, but the problem now is the damage is done because this is Friday night and we cannot open the restaurant. We have a lot of reservations but our employees were traumatized and they don’t want to work tonight.”
He estimated that five or six employees went home following the raid.
Cattaneo said Friday evening he was still processing the unexpected raid, which he said has left everyone shell-shocked.
“I don’t understand what happened, why they took these people,” he said. “I really don’t know. I’m in shock. It was really crazy. I understand they have to do what they have to do, but this is a lot. Then afterwards, they left and said you can open now.”
While the restaurant will reopen Saturday after remaining closed Friday evening, Cattaneo said he is focused on finding out what happened to his employees who were detained.
“It’s really a lot to process right now,” Cattaneo said. “We want to do whatever is right. It was really shocking.”
The scene outside Buona Forchetta, with people gathered outside, felt “like a riot,” he added.
At one point, based on videos posted on social media, it appears that a couple of flash-bang grenades were released, triggering smoke and screams from bystanders.
While Cattaneo believes all his employees are here legally, based on the papers they present him, he acknowledges “nobody can know for sure.”
The restaurant, which had reopened for business Saturday afternoon, posted a statement earlier in the day on social media that said in part, “Last night, one of our restaurants was the site of an ICE Worksite Enforcement Operation. The way it unfolded was nothing short of traumatic.”
“We are working closely with our attorneys to locate and our detained employees and their families.”
Mayor Todd Gloria issued a statement Saturday expressing his displeasure with the action taken by ICE agents and said he has communicated his concerns with Homeland Security.
“Federal actions like these are billed as a public safety measure, but it had the complete opposite effect,” Gloria said. “What we saw undermines trust and creates fear in our community. I raised these concerns and my strong objections directly with Homeland Security Investigations leadership this morning. I will continue to advocate for the respect, dignity, rights, and security of everyone in our city.”
Also weighing in are Reps. Scott Peters and Juan Vargas of San Diego, who plan to hold a news conference Monday to demand answers from the Department of Homeland Security “about this incident, including what warrant allowed all workers to be handcuffed and if due process was followed.”
Meanwhile, dozens of people showed up outside Buona Forchetta on Saturday to rally in of the restaurant and the workers who were questioned and detained by ICE agents. The gathering was promoted on social media, and participants, many holding aloft signs, said they came after hearing about the rally.
This story has been updated to include new details, including a statement from Mayor Todd Gloria, a day following the raid.
