The fallout from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on a South Park restaurant continued Tuesday as local labor leaders held a rally in front of the federal courthouse in downtown San Diego to condemn the raid.
“A wave of terror has been unleashed by this administration,” said Christian Ramirez, policy director with SEIU USWW. He said what happened at Buona Forchetta on Friday is reminiscent of a dictatorship.
The warrant, unsealed on Monday afternoon, alleges that workers at Buona Forchetta are being exploited and working 12-hour shifts without breaks.
Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, said the raid was not meant to help workers but was a scare tactic designed to intimidate them.
“They told us it was about criminals and making America safer," she said. "Now, those of us who have worked in the immigrant community for years knew that was bullsh--.”
Buona Forchetta posted a note on its door saying all locations in San Diego and Orange counties are closed on Monday and Tuesday. A man stopped by Tuesday morning to leave flowers for those arrested, adding to the dozen or so bouquets supporting the workers.
The warrant alleged that 19 of the workers there, or around 50%, used fraudulent green cards to obtain work.
Brigette Browning, president of the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council AFL-CIO, said that’s no reason for the show of force Friday.
“They handcuffed workers, they fired explosives near families and they’ve left workers and families trembling," she said. "This is what happens when politicians treat human beings as if they’re targets.”
According to the warrant, Homeland Security received the initial tip about workers using fraudulent green cards on Nov. 1, 2020, and a follow-up tip on Jan. 31, 2025. A Department of Homeland Security investigation in February of this year showed that 19 workers submitted fraudulent green cards. That led to the raid on Friday, resulting in the arrest of four workers.
“They sent masked armed troops into the neighborhood with high-grade military weapons for fake papers?" San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera said. "That is absolute and utter bullsh--.”
On his Instagram page, Elo-Rivera called ICE agents “terrorists” and the raid “state-sponsored terrorism.” That caught the attention of Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, who said on X, "They are openly encouraging violence against law enforcement to aid and abet the invasion of America."
Elo-Rivera, however, was unapologetic.
“Stephen Miller and Donald Trump, just like any bully, they don't like to be called out," he said. "And so when they get called out, they try to intimidate again. I call him a fascist because he's a fascist.”
Buona Forchetta said it is still reviewing the allegations made in the warrant.
