I’m a Business Owner in Minneapolis Working 16-Hour Shifts So My Staff Can Stay Home to Avoid ICE

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With ICE agents in the area, I don’t know when — or if — staff will be able to come to work. We all have pretty set schedules, and we’re tight-knit. There are only six of us operating this place, seven days a week. And I have concerns: Are my employees going to get stopped on their way to work? Are they going to be hassled or detained? Are they going to come back?

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Some of my employees don’t feel comfortable leaving their houses. If they tell me they can’t come to the restaurant, my policy, of course, is “no questions asked.” I get it. But I’m not a wealthy businessman. If we’re not serving guests our food, there’s no money coming in, and we can’t pay people. I wish that we were at a place where we could offer better PTO benefits, but we’re not. That’s been hard.

We’re just trying to keep our people safe and our employees comfortable. We have a big bay window at the front of the restaurant where the full kitchen is visible. I’m going to make some modifications to the space that will make it harder to see inside. We don’t know who’s looking in now, or what their purpose is. We put up cameras that we didn’t have before — we need to have a record of whatever happens here.

I worry that ICE agents will come to my business to abduct my staff. I also worry that they’re going to come enjoy hospitality, and that’s going to get out to the public. I can only do what I think is good for me, my staff, and the restaurant. ICE agents are bad for business, no matter which way they come.

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