In early May 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided nine restaurants across Washington, D.C. The establishments included Chef Geoff’s, Millie’s, Pupatella, Chang Chang, Ghostburger, Officina, Jaleo, Santa Rosa Taqueria, Call Your Mother, and Clyde’s. Agents in Homeland Security Investigations uniforms arrived during business hours and requested employee documentation (I-9 forms).
No arrests were made, but the visits caused significant disruption and distress among workers and customers. The Washington Post reported on one specific ICE raid at Millie’s in Spring Valley. During an interview with The Washington Post, Bo Blair, president and founder of Georgetown Events Hospitality Group, said, “A couple of employees left for the rest of the day […] They were pretty rattled.”
The raids are part of a broader nationwide initiative under the Trump administration’s Operation Safeguard. D.C. officials, including Mayor Muriel Bowser, strongly criticized the visits, claiming, “I have heard those reports. I’ve been getting them all morning. I am disturbed by them. It appears as though ICE is at restaurants, or even at neighborhoods, and it doesn’t look like they’re targeting criminals, and it does look like they’re disrupting,”.
