ICE in DC: Restaurants Brace For Friday; Bilingual Schools Lawyer Up
A day of 1-9 notices at restaurants triggers a wave of fear in the District.
WASHINGTON — ICE descended on multiple Washington, D.C., restaurants Tuesday, conducting I-9 inspections and issuing notices that have left the local restaurant industry on edge, according to sources familiar with the operations.
“They said they didn’t want to come in or talk to any workers,” said David Utter, manager at Ghostburger, which I frequent weekly for takeout. ICE agents showed up at his restaurant just before they opened at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
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Utter said there were four of them: three in plain clothes and one in tactical gear. None of the agents were armed. They were there to inform Ghostburger that in three days there would be an inspection of their I-9 forms—employment eligibility documents required for staff.
“We’ve gotta be on high alert for Friday when they might come back,” said Utter, whose fiancé is about to graduate law school into a District full of lawyers and press. "It feels like they're trying to make an example out of nothing," Ghostburger owner Josh Phillips told Washingtonian food editor Jessica Sidman, adding: "If they're supposedly looking for criminals, then why are they harassing restaurants?"
Ghostburger in Shaw was one of at least a dozen restaurants that received I-9 notices from immigration agents Tuesday. Jaleo in Gallery Place, Clyde’s in Georgetown, Chang Chang and Pupatella in Dupont Circle, Millie’s in Spring Valley, Chef Geoff’s in Northwest, Call Your Mother on Georgia Avenue, Santa Rosa on Capitol Hill, and untold others were visited by teams of men in their 40s like those who came to Ghostburger.
Looking Ahead
There have been no detentions confirmed thus far—only notices, and a collective anxiety that has left the city on high alert. As we scooped yesterday, ICE is expected to remain active in D.C. through at least Wednesday. The I-9 notices suggest they could be in town longer.
Meanwhile, school attendance has plummeted. Public transit is avoided. Many residents stay inside behind doors with extra locks. Restaurants that weren’t targeted are already taking precautions, such as refusing to deliver with DoorDash or Uber Eats for fear immigration agents may intercept drivers. Others are creating protocols to protect workers and guests from the rising tide of federal deportation efforts.
The same goes for the District’s multilingual schools, where tonight, parents of students meet with attorneys set to be on hand tomorrow—just in case ICE shows up. Many students will stay home regardless, now that word has spread that agents are operating in a city paralyzed, in part, by their presence.
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