ICE agents raid San Diego restaurant, detain workers
SAN DIEGO (CNN, KYMA/KECY) - Heavily armed ICE agents raided a South Park restaurant Friday evening in San Diego and detained multiple people, causing outrage within the community.
Signs of support have been pouring into Buona Forchetta throughout the day after the restaurant became the center of a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operation Friday evening.
Buona Forchetta was packed with patrons over the weekend.
Outside the restaurant's entrance were signs from neighbors showing solidarity a day after chaos unfolded.
HSI agents swept through the restaurant as part of an operation, but outside the community pushed back. At one point, flash bangs were fired as people surrounded the agents' cars.
Afterwards, Claire Cody, an employee who was inside when the operation unfolded, talked about what she saw.
"They come in and say they have a search warrant. All our employees were handcuffed and they searched our IDs and they took people," Cody shared.
Buona Forchetta took to social media sharing they're working closely with their attorneys to help their detained employees and their families. They called the way the operation "unfolded nothing short of traumatic" and said they're "devastated and heartbroken."
Their statement saying in part, "We are grateful no one was physically harmed. We're also deeply moved by the outpouring of support from our community. Please know that we see you. We feel it, and it matters."
Jean DeCarlo brought a sign from home to show her support. She says the restaurant has been a keystone business that has uplifted the neighborhood.
"These are hard working people. The these are people in integrated into our neighborhood," DeCarlo expressed.
In response to the incident, City of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria released a statement saying in part, "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."
Meanwhile, County Supervisor Jim Desmond defended ICE agents, with a social media post saying in part, "It's about protecting our communities and keeping our country safe."
Nancy Francis, who lives in Golden Hills, stopped by the restaurant to order takeout. She says she wanted to support them since they had to close down on Friday night, but she's worried about the potential ripple effects this may have in the community.
"These restaurants need the business. This place is usually much more crowded, so I hope that that's not as a result of people seeing what happened here yesterday and thinking, 'Oh, let's not go tonight. Let's let things settle down,'" Francis spoke.
The manager of the restaurant said four employees were detained.
The restaurant released a statement on social media Sunday saying they are closing their doors Monday and Tuesday at all their locations across San Diego and Orange Counties.
