SCOOP: Lawmakers Demand Answers from ICE Director Over Warrantless DC Restaurant Raids
Letter demands clarity on warrant use, arrests amid small business disruptions
WASHINGTON — A coalition of House lawmakers led by Democratic Reps. Nydia Velázquez (NY) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) is demanding answers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after agents allegedly entered numerous Washington, D.C. restaurants without judicial warrants, sparking fears across the city’s immigrant and small business communities.
Migrant Insider is sponsored by
In a letter sent Friday to ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, members of the House Small Business Committee condemned what they described as “heavy-handed” immigration enforcement actions that appear to have disproportionately targeted small, neighborhood eateries rather than national chains.
The lawmakers cited reports that ICE agents attempted to forcibly access staff-only areas in at least one Dupont Circle restaurant after being denied entry without a warrant. “Main Street businessowners and employees are entitled to constitutional protections against warrantless search and seizure,” the letter states, calling the incidents “an alarming disregard for due process rights.”
According to the letter, ICE actions have already resulted in hundreds of arrests and caused economic disruption in D.C.’s restaurant sector, with some establishments reportedly closing early or locking doors to avoid encounters with federal agents. The authors argue that such raids are exacerbating the nation’s labor shortage and inflicting disproportionate harm on the hospitality industry, where undocumented workers make up a significant portion of the workforce.
The lawmakers posed a series of pointed questions to DHS and ICE, demanding information on the number of raids conducted in the past month, how many were supported by judicial warrants, and whether agents received training on the constitutional rights of individuals encountered during enforcement actions. They requested a formal response by May 29.
“If these operations metastasize beyond Washington, DC,” the letter warns, “they would gravely injure the backbones of local economies across our country.” The Committee invoked its oversight authority under House rules and signaled it may escalate the issue if answers are not forthcoming.
MIGRANT INSIDER IS SPONSORED BY
