An immigration raid at a San Diego restaurant leads to a chaotic scene

A chaotic scene from a federal immigration raid on a popular San Diego restaurant is drawing new attention to government tactics in the push to fulfill President Trump’s promise to deport millions in a historic crackdown.

Video shared on social media and local news shows armed and masked agents in full tactical gear swarming the area near a popular Italian restaurant called Buona Forchetta late Friday afternoon.

A crowd of people gathers, filming and yelling in protest, surrounding cars and detention vans. Then, a momentary explosion of what appears to be a flash-bang grenade sends smoke floating through the street.

A special agent with the Department of Homeland Security told NPR member station KPBS that officials were “executing a criminal search warrant” during a workplace raid.

Some witnesses in news reports say agents at first handcuffed the entire restaurant crew as they asked for identification. Several workers were ultimately detained, though witness accounts differ on how many.

DHS’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, did not immediately respond to NPR’s email inquiry Saturday. Neither did the restaurant.

One employee cried while speaking with KPBS on Friday as she described how federal agents handcuffed her coworkers in the restaurant, just before it was scheduled to open.

The crowd of locals at one point blocked an unmarked DHS vehicle from leaving a nearby intersection; they shouted profanities and called agents fascists. Agents sounded sirens, then deployed what KPBS described as a smoke device to disperse the crowd.

Some news reports also suggest that San Diego police were asked to assist at the scene of Friday’s workplace raid, though the department’s involvement is unclear. SDPD did not reply to NPR’s inquiry on Saturday.