Trump’s ICE Agents Raid Restaurant Owned by CBS News Star’s Husband

Immigration and Customs Enforcement brokers raided a number of eating places in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, together with one owned by the husband of CBS Information anchor Norah O’Donnell.

Chef Geoff’s, an American eatery based by O’Donnell’s husband Geoff Tracy, had its Northwest D.C. location close to American College raided by almost a dozen ICE brokers on Tuesday morning, based on Fox 5.

The restaurant, which has been open for greater than 20 years, serves quite a lot of customary American fare, together with $17 pizzas, a $19 burger, do-it-yourself pasta dishes that vary from $20-30 and quite a lot of salads and bowls. Its web site states it gives “modern American delicacies and a pleasant neighborhood really feel match for any event.”

The immigration brokers, wearing Homeland Safety uniforms, reportedly requested to see the workers’s I-9 types that confirm their identification and employment authorization.

The raid befell early Tuesday morning and lasted about an hour and a half. Nobody was taken into custody.

The Every day Beast has reached out to Chef Geoff’s and the Division of Homeland Safety for remark.

Shawn Townsend, president of the Restaurant Affiliation of Metropolitan Washington, advised Fox 5 that they had been involved about “the fear-mongering ways” used on a variety of D.C. eating places.

“There was nobody detained or arrested that I’ve heard of however no matter that reality, disrupting meals service throughout lunch hours whereas eating places are open is alarming,” he stated. “There’s a sense of concern… Immigrants make up a considerable amount of staff in our eating places within the district.”

The Washingtonian reported that ICE brokers additionally visited Millie’s in Spring Valley, Pupatella and Chang Chang in Dupont Circle, and Ghostburger in Shaw to demand I-9 types.

The brokers, who stated they had been doing “administrative work,” reportedly left Pupatella after workers referred them to the pizzeria’s company workplace.

“No raiding, no something,” Pupatella government Natasha Neely advised the journal. “They didn’t even enter the constructing.”

At Millie’s, brokers didn’t push again when the overall supervisor denied their request to query workers simply because the restaurant was opening for lunch.

“All of them got here in the entire public entrances on the identical time,” proprietor Bo Blair advised The Washingtonian. “We had been beneath the impression that they had been specializing in looking for criminals… And that is only a complete new stage of harassment to our hard-working, law-abiding workers.”

The raids adopted rumors on Monday that ICE brokers would start focusing on D.C. restaurant workers and meals supply staff this week.

The raids are a part of the federal government’s broader push to ship President Donald Trump’s long-promised mass deportation blitz.

Trump administration officers have repeatedly sought to guarantee the general public that deportations would goal violent criminals. A CBS investigation earlier discovered, nevertheless, that a whole lot of individuals have been deported regardless of having no felony historical past.