Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided multiple restaurants in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, including one owned by the husband of CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell.
Chef Geoff’s, an American eatery founded by O’Donnell’s husband Geoff Tracy, had its Northwest D.C. location near American University raided by nearly a dozen ICE agents on Tuesday morning, according to Fox 5.
The restaurant, which has been open for more than 20 years, serves a variety of standard American fare, including $17 pizzas, a $19 burger, homemade pasta dishes that range from $20-30, and a variety of salads and bowls. Its website states it offers “contemporary American cuisine and a friendly neighborhood feel fit for any occasion.”
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The immigration agents, dressed in Homeland Security uniforms, reportedly asked to see the staff’s I-9 forms that verify their identity and employment authorization.
The raid took place early Tuesday morning and lasted about an hour and a half. No one was taken into custody.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Chef Geoff’s and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Shawn Townsend, president of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, told Fox 5 that they were concerned about “the fearmongering tactics” used on a number of D.C. restaurants.
“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,” he said. “There is a sense of fear… Immigrants make up a large amount of workers in our restaurants in the district.”
The Washingtonian reported that ICE agents also visited Millie’s in Spring Valley, Pupatella and Chang Chang in Dupont Circle, and Ghostburger in Shaw to demand I-9 forms.
The agents, who said they were doing “administrative work,” reportedly left Pupatella after staff referred them to the pizzeria’s corporate office.
“No raiding, no anything,” Pupatella executive Natasha Neely told the magazine. “They didn’t even enter the building.”
At Millie’s, agents did not push back when the general manager denied their request to question employees just as the restaurant was opening for lunch.
“They all came in all of the public entrances at the same time,” owner Bo Blair told The Washingtonian. “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 followed rumors on Monday that ICE agents would begin targeting D.C. restaurant staff and food delivery workers this week.
The raids are part of the government’s broader push to deliver President Donald Trump’s long-promised mass deportation blitz.
Trump administration officials have repeatedly sought to assure the public that deportations would target violent criminals. A CBS investigation earlier found, however, that hundreds of people have been deported despite having no criminal history.
