Northern California ICE Raid of Chinese Restaurants

Not far from UC Davis, ICE conducted a raid of a couple of Chinese restaurants and private homes yesterday. Henry Lee reports in the San Francisco Chronicle:

Federal agents have raided three Bay Area homes and two restaurants, arresting 21 undocumented immigrants who had been working at the establishments and living in squalor, authorities said Friday.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents searched homes in Vacaville, Vallejo and Hercules on Wednesday as well as King’s Buffet on Orange Drive in Vacaville and the Empire Buffet on Sonoma Boulevard in Vallejo, both Chinese restaurants.

Authorities are also investigating a second outlet of the Empire Buffet in San Pablo. That restaurant wasn’t searched because it never opened Wednesday, most likely because agents had already rounded up its workers, said spokeswoman Virginia Kice of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Authorities said 13 suspected undocumented immigrants had been found at the Chinese restaurants and the other eight had been found at homes owned by people linked to the establishments. One person was released on humanitarian grounds; the rest are to appear before federal immigration judges. Click here for the rest of the story.

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