SAN DIEGO, CA – Last week’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids at two Italian restaurants have sparked widespread outrage and tension throughout the San Diego community. The incidents ended with federal agents deploying flash-bang grenades on residents protesting the raids, prompting swift condemnation from local elected officials.
According to a press release cited by the Los Angeles Times, the raids occurred at Buona Forchetta and Enoteca Buona Forchetta in South Park last Friday, where heavily armed ICE and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents were executing federal search warrants.
It was one of the most dramatic shows of force by federal immigration authorities in California since the Trump administration’s pledge to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, the Times noted.
Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe, a spokesperson for HSI, a division of ICE, said the warrants involved alleged violations related to “hiring and harboring illegal aliens and false statements.”
Local media obtained the search warrant, which alleged that the restaurants “knowingly employed both illegal immigrants and individuals not authorized to work in the United States.”
According to the Times, the warrant was prompted by a tip received five years ago alleging the restaurant employed 19 undocumented workers using fake green cards. Some were said to have worked 12-hour shifts without breaks and endured verbal abuse. A second tip was submitted earlier this year.
Last Saturday, as agents carried out the warrants, a crowd gathered, chanting “Shame!” at the federal agents. O’Keefe said the protesters eventually blocked the agents from leaving the area.
She confirmed that law enforcement deployed noise flash diversionary devices—commonly known as flash-bangs—to safely exit the scene. “When gatherings like these are formed, it not only places law enforcement in danger but also the demonstrators and onlookers attempting to impede law enforcement activity,” O’Keefe said.
Videos circulating on social media showed residents confronting agents, cursing at them, and calling them “Nazis” and “fascists,” according to the press release.
One video reportedly shows a federal agent deploying a flash-bang grenade to disperse a crowd blocking a silver Chevy SUV. Five armed agents—most carrying assault rifles—then approached as the federal vehicles reversed and exited through a side street.
The raids were condemned by city leaders, who questioned the use of what they described as militarized tactics for a workplace enforcement operation.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria stated, “Federal actions like these are billed as a public safety measure, but it had the complete opposite effect… What we saw undermines trust and creates fear in our community.”
Councilmember Stephen Whitburn also criticized the raid as “an unnecessary and alarming show of force deployed by federal agents at a restaurant in a residential neighborhood.”
“Setting aside the debate over immigration policy,” Whitburn told the Los Angeles Times, “I would like to know the justification for sending dozens of agents, wearing masks, carrying machine guns and handcuffing all the workers to execute a warrant for somebody who might be undocumented. Are you serious?”
He added, “Last Friday was completely unnecessary. Residents had every right to be furious about what they were witnessing and to make their anger known—and they did that, and I’m proud of it.”
Whitburn emphasized that he supports law enforcement and pointed to the professionalism of local San Diego police and sheriff’s deputies, who routinely apprehend suspects without the level of force federal agents used.
“I doubt there was any need for that many agents at that restaurant on Friday,” he told the Times. “And that begs the question—if it wasn’t necessary, why the big show of force? Was it to create fear? Was it to intimidate residents who live in the area? Is that what we want our federal government to be doing?”
Representative Scott Peters, whose district includes South Park, said the incident was traumatizing for neighborhood residents. He questioned both the scale of the operation and how public funds were being used to carry it out.
Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera went further, calling the raids “state-sponsored terrorism.”
“I’ve seen firsthand the pain and trauma caused when our neighbors are targeted by aggressive, military-style federal enforcement,” Elo-Rivera said. “When ICE agents stormed Buona Forchetta with military-style weapons… it was an attempt to terrorize San Diegans into compliance.”
A photo posted to social media by Elo-Rivera’s accountant showing federal agents with the word “terrorists” superimposed drew national attention. According to the press release, it was flagged by Stephen Miller, a former Trump advisor and current Homeland Security deputy chief of staff.
Miller responded on X, formerly Twitter: “We are living in the age of leftwing domestic terrorism. They are openly encouraging violence against law enforcement to aid and abet the invasion of America.”
According to O’Keefe, four individuals living in the U.S. without legal status were taken into custody as a result of the raids. She declined to provide further information, citing an ongoing investigation.
Buona Forchetta released a public statement saying it was working to locate and support its employees and their families, as well as anyone directly affected by the incident. The restaurant did not address the allegations in the federal warrant.
The press release noted that the raids were part of a broader federal enforcement pattern, referencing a recent raid at a Los Angeles-area underground nightclub that led to the arrest of 36 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals, and another near a Home Depot in Pomona where roughly two dozen day laborers were detained.
In its public statement, Buona Forchetta expressed gratitude to the community for its support. “Buona Forchetta has always been, at its core, a family,” the statement read. “We have built our spaces on trust, dignity, and care for one another. We stand together now and always.”
