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Tensions have risen in San Diego after last week’s immigration and customs enforcement labor attacks at two Italian restaurants. The elected officials responded to anger.
The incident occurred on Friday. It happened Friday when Homeland Security Investigation agents executed search warrants in Buona Forchetta and Enoteca Buona Forchetta in South Park, a calm, tree-lined neighborhood with popular restaurants.
Yasmeen Pitts O’Keefe, a spokesman for HSI, an agency under ICE, said the warrant was related to “infringement of employment and illegal alien and violation of false statements.”
She said four people living in the country were illegally detained. Citing on the ongoing investigation, she did not provide any other details.
In a statement, Buona Forchetta said it is working with lawyers to find and support employees and their families. He also said he is providing support to staff who have witnessed and experienced the incident first hand.
O’Keefe began gathering large crowds and chanting “Shame!” as immigration agents served warrants that grant courts. And ultimately prevents federal agents from leaving the area.
“The protesters have become unruly and as a result, a deadly noise flash detour has been deployed, allowing law enforcement to exit the scene as safely as possible,” O’Keefe said. “When these gatherings form, not only put law enforcement in danger, but protesters and spectators also try to disrupt law enforcement activities.”
The video, filmed by the protesters and bystanders, has since been circulated on social media. They show dozens of residents demand that federal agents leave their neighbours, cursing them, calling them “Nazis” and “fascists.” They also show residents standing in front of a Silver Chevrolet SUV, using flash bang grapes to disperse the crowds with federal agents, but with no effect.
At one point, five federal agents, most of them armed with assault rifles, approached the crowd as the government vehicle turned around and left another street and exited the exit.
San Diego city officials denounced the operation and questioned the use of rifles and stan-handed rena bullets, which ultimately led to the public’s response.
“Those federal actions have been billed as public safety measures, but they had the opposite effect,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said in a statement. “What we see undermines trust and creates fear in our community.”
“It was a show of unnecessary and incredible power deployed by federal agents in residential restaurants,” councillor Stephen Whitburn, which includes districts including South Park, told The Times. “Aside from the discussion on immigration policy, I want to know the legitimacy of dozens of agents, wearing masks, carrying machine guns, handcuffing all workers, and enforce warrants for undocumented people. Are you serious?”
“Last Friday was totally unnecessary,” he added.
Councillor Sean Elo Libara reflected the statement, calling the collective response to what he said “state-sponsored terrorism.”
“I have seen firsthand the pain and trauma caused when our neighbors are targeted by aggressive, military-style federal enforcement, whether parents are arrested while dropping children at school, deported while residents are in court or kicked out workers while working at a local restaurant,” he said. “When the Ice Agent attacked Boona Forchetta with military-style weapons, it was not safe. It was an attempt to threaten Sandegan to compliance.”
In a post on social media platform X, Elo-Rivera posted a photo of a federal agent with the word “terrorism” written on it. The post attracted the attention of Stephen Miller, Homeland Security Advisor and President Trump’s Deputy Chiefs of Staff.
“We live in an age of left-wing domestic terrorism. They support American aggression and openly encourage violence against law enforcement agencies that bet,” Miller writes in X.
We live in an age of left-wing domestic terrorism. They openly encourage violence against law enforcement to support and bet American aggression. https://t.co/cyd85cvdg
– Stephen Miller (@stephenm) May 31, 2025
Whitburn said he was a law enforcement advocate and pointed to the professionalism of San Diego police officers and sheriff’s deputies.
“I don’t think we needed that many of those agents at that restaurant on Friday,” he said. “And that asks the question, if it wasn’t necessary, why is there a show of great power? Was it to create fear? Was it to intimidate residents living in the area?
Buona Forchetta said in a statement that he appreciated the infusion of support from residents and their customers.
“Buona Forchetta has always been a family at its heart,” he wrote. “We have built our spaces based on mutual trust, dignity and care. We are always standing together.”
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