San Diego, CA — Today, Representatives Scott Peters (CA-50) and Juan Vargas (CA-52), along with Representatives Sara Jacobs (CA-51) and Mike Levin (CA-49), and U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) demanded answers from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over the outrageous and militarized ICE Raid at Buona Forchetta, a community restaurant.

In addition to this letter, Reps. Peters, Vargas, Jacobs, and Levin, and U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) sent a letter to Sec. Noem expressing their concern over the deliberate targeting of immigrants trying to follow the legal process at courthouses, such as the San Diego Immigration Court located in the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building.

In their letter, the members stated, “In 2024, President Trump’s now ‘border czar,’ Tom Homan, said immigration enforcement would focus on immigrants who are ‘public safety threats and the national security threats first.’  According to the facts outlined in the government’s warrant, the workers at Buona Forchetta do not appear to meet this standard. Instead, many immigrants, like those targeted in the operation, work challenging jobs and fill labor gaps in sectors like agriculture and construction. Immigrants are critical to the local and national economy, with those in the San Diego metro area contributing $11.3 billion in taxes annually.”

They continued, “The role of law enforcement is to keep our community safe. The incident at Buona Forchetta last week did not make us safer. Witness accounts and video recordings show over 20 ICE and [Homeland Security Investigations] agents present on the scene, many armed with assault weapons and fitted in military tactical gear. Agents were then witnessed aggressively entering the restaurant to handcuff all employees—including those who were not enforcement targets. Agents also used three noise flash diversionary devices, which produce loud bangs and smoke, to disperse civilians at the scene. These tactics created chaos and fear, all to arrest four immigrants reportedly working hard as dishwashers and servers... The Administration’s use of these tactics also suggests the intent of the raid was not uphold the law in a responsible manner, but rather to intimidate. This is unacceptable. The use of such tactics to execute warrants for non-violent crimes not only harms public trust in HIS and ICE, it also raises legitimate questions about the Department of Homeland Security’s stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”

And they concluded by asking that Sec. Noem promptly respond to the following questions:

1. Has ICE or HIS received any new directive or informal communications from the Administration to expand enforcement priorities to immigrants who are not violent criminals or public safety threats?
2. What is the process by which Department determines it is necessary to arm agents with assault weapons and military equipment during raids?
3. How does Department account for the level of public safety threat of enforcement targets or the likely concentration of civilians when it makes these determinations?
4. What tactics did ICE use to attempt to disperse the crowd before escalating to use noise flash diversionary devices?
5. Prior to the operation, did ICE consider any of the targeted immigrants to be public safety or national security threats?

The full text of the letter can be found here. 

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