On Tuesday, May 6, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted a series of raids targeting multiple restaurants in Washington, D.C., including Chef Geoff's, an establishment owned by Geoff Tracy, the husband of CBS News anchor Norah O'Donnell. The raids have sparked significant concern among local officials and the restaurant community, with many viewing the actions as a disruptive form of intimidation against immigrant workers.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser expressed her distress over the reports, stating, "I have heard those reports, I've been getting them all morning. I am disturbed by them. It appears that ICE is at restaurants or even in neighborhoods, and it doesn't look like they're targeting criminals. It is disrupting." She emphasized that the Metropolitan Police Department was not involved in these operations.
The raids were reportedly preceded by warnings from a coalition of activists to delivery drivers and restaurant owners on Monday, May 5, about the planned enforcement actions. George Escobar, chief of programs and services at CASA, a community organization focused on improving the lives of working-class Americans, explained the unusual specificity of the alerts they received. "This one, to be honest, alarmed us a little bit, because it was really specific," Escobar told ABC News. "We received notice about a specific kind of operation on how they were going to be conducted: what the pretense of maybe entering some of these small businesses were going to be, the fact that they were looking specifically at food businesses and possibly delivery workers."
The raids at Chef Geoff's took place early Tuesday morning, lasting about an hour and a half. During this time, nearly a dozen ICE agents, dressed in Homeland Security uniforms, requested to see the staff's I-9 forms, which verify employees' identities and work authorizations. Fortunately, no one was taken into custody during the operation.
Shawn Townsend, president of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), voiced his concerns regarding the implications of such raids. He stated, "There was no one detained or arrested that I’ve heard of but regardless of that fact, disrupting food service during lunch hours while restaurants are open is alarming. There is a sense of fear… Immigrants make up a large amount of workers in our restaurants in the district."
In addition to Chef Geoff's, ICE agents also visited several other establishments, including Millie's in Spring Valley, Pupatella and Chang Chang in Dupont Circle, and Ghostburger in Shaw, demanding to see I-9 forms. At Pupatella, staff directed the agents to the corporate office, leading to a quick departure without further action. Natasha Neely, executive of Pupatella, remarked, "No raiding, no anything. They didn’t even enter the building." Conversely, at Millie's, the general manager successfully denied the agents' request to question employees as the restaurant was just opening for lunch. Owner Bo Blair commented, "We were under the impression that they were focusing on trying to find criminals… And this is just a whole new level of harassment to our hard-working, law-abiding employees."
The raids are part of a broader initiative by the government to fulfill President Donald Trump's long-promised mass deportation blitz. While officials have insisted that deportations would primarily target violent criminals, a CBS investigation previously revealed that hundreds of individuals have been deported despite having no criminal history.
The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, which represents over 60,000 restaurant workers, has expressed deep concern about the potential impact of these raids on local businesses and communities. In a statement, RAMW urged policymakers at both local and federal levels to consider the real-world implications of such enforcement actions. "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 read. "The immigrant workforce has been essential to sustaining and growing our local restaurant industry and has been a major contributor to our local economy."
As the restaurant industry grapples with the fallout from these raids, RAMW highlighted the fragile state of the economy, noting, "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." The association warned that disrupting restaurant staffing across the industry could create a damaging ripple effect felt immediately throughout the local economy.
In light of these events, community leaders and activists are calling for a reassessment of the tactics employed by ICE and a more humane approach to immigration enforcement. Amy Fischer, a core organizer with Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid, stated, "If ICE wants to snatch up every single immigrant working in food service and delivery, then the entire industry will collapse." The sentiment echoes a growing concern that the ongoing raids could not only harm individual workers but also threaten the viability of the entire restaurant sector in Washington, D.C.
As these developments unfold, the impact on the local community remains to be seen. The combination of fear and uncertainty surrounding the raids is likely to affect not only the immigrant workers directly involved but also the patrons who frequent these establishments. With the restaurant industry being a cornerstone of the D.C. economy, the ramifications of such enforcement actions could reverberate far beyond the immediate vicinity of the raids.
